You know the saying “Time flies when you are having fun”? I have heard that phrase my whole life, but now I truly understand the meaning behind those words. I can not believe it has been 485 days since we traded our sticks and bricks for a home on wheels. Thinking back to all the memories we have created, the places we have visited, and the relationships that have blossomed from this adventure, sometimes I struggle for the words to describe the impact its had on our family.
With the holidays approaching and after reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for over turkey this week, it got us thinking about what this life of “Less Junk and More Journey” has meant to us. Now almost a year and a half into our journey, here are 3 of our most thankful aspects of RV Living.
Family Time
Family time is the idea behind this journey. It was the fuel to the fire of what got us started on this adventure.
When Nathan, my husband, approached me with this lifestyle of RV living it was the answer we were looking for. How could we afford to be together more as a family and spend quality time with one another? Well the answer was easy, but at the same time very hard. We could sell our stuff and live on LESS to experience MORE. We embraced that challenge. It was difficult and emotional, but the most rewarding tradeoff we could have ever hoped for.
We wake up in the mornings and have breakfast together as a family. The table in our RV may be SMALLER than before, but our love for each other is even BIGGER than we ever could have imagined.
Sunsets
We love watching sunsets as a family. I know this one sounds simple and you may be thinking seeing a sunset is not worth selling my house for. For us I think sunsets are more than a mixture of colors for a magical 20 minutes in the sky. They symbolize freedom. Freedom as a family that we are not letting “stuff” control our lives. “Stuff” is not controlling our finances, our thoughts, and our happiness.
To Nathan sunsets mean we made it! After a year of selling our home and possessions and hitting the road full time, we showed up to the Florida Keys. When he saw the sunset that night and saw the beauty it displayed it was a moment of IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. We had made it to the life we had aspired to enjoy and it was amazing in that moment.
Meeting New People
Meeting new people was actually not something that had crossed our minds when we started this journey. To be honest my husband and I have more of an introverted personality. We LOVE relationships with others and we LOVE making new friends, but we would tend to sit back not seek those out like I wish we did.
This journey has brought some amazing people and friendships into our lives. The RV community is so kind, loving, and hospitable. They are compassionate, love adventure, and make wonderful friends. Although the traveling lifestyle can sometimes be a lonely road to travel, the people we’ve met have brightened the journey and have been one of our favorite parts of this lifestyle. Not just in person, but also through social media, our blog, and YouTube.
These are just 3 of our favorite perks of full time RV living. There are so many more aspects we love about living small. Life is short. Time flies. Why not make the most of life and let go of the “junk” that keeps us from our “journey” called life.
Here is a Youtube video we made on this topic if you want to check it out: