This Month marks our 2nd Nomadiversary! It is hard to believe it has been 2 years since we said goodbye to our first home as a married couple and as parents to hit the open road. I can still remember the emotions of walking around the now empty house that was once filled with our possessions, as we said goodbye for the last time.
Possessions we had sold and sacrificed to live the RV lifestyle. Our family pictures were taken off the walls, my great grandmother’s kitchen table passed on to other family members, the baby crib we brought our daughter home to from the hospital, were all given new homes and new memories to be made.
It was emotional. We were saying goodbye to our old lives as we began a new chapter. It was exciting, but at the same time with tears streaming down our faces there was a sense of fear. Had we made the right choice for our family? What if we had made a terrible mistake?
We had planned and yearned for the RV lifestyle for a year at this point. After the birth of our daughter, we had made the decision we wanted life to be more that punching a time clock and dropping her off at daycare. We wanted as much family time as we could allow and the best way to do so was to downsize. If we downsized, it would decrease our living expenses and therefore allow more freedom and flexibility of our time. We then decided to make our downsize on wheels to travel, explore, and create amazing family memories together.
The hardest part of saying goodbye to our house was shutting the door. Once we shut the door we knew that would probably be the last time we stepped foot in that particular house. It was as if we were closing the door on our lives and trusting that what was behind the new door was going to be even better.
Yes we could always buy another house and that was our worse case scenario if we hated RV living. But this house was special to us. We came home to this house after being pronounced husband and wife. We came home to this house after the birth of our daughter that we had prayed desperately for so long for her arrival.
As we prepared to leave, I walked into an empty room that was once the nursery where I rocked my baby to sleep. The room where she greeted me with a smile I will never forget as I got her out of her crib to start our day together each morning. Now it laid empty. Only memories fill the room. A blank slate for the next family to call home.
We walked out the doors of that home and into our new home on wheels to begin a new adventure. It was bitter sweet. An exciting new adventure awaited us, but fear of the unknown was bitting at our heels to turn back. We made some amazing memories in that old brick house. It was the place we called home and there are times we still miss that house. In the end though, it was just a house. We may have parted with that particular home, but we will always have the beautiful memories we made.
2 years later, words can not describe the true happiness we have discovered by letting go. We have gained more by having less. It is not about the house, the possessions, or status a person holds, but truly about the experiences. It is about relationships, love, adventure, and all those things can be made in any space including an RV.
I can remember my hand on that door knob saying don’t let go. Don’t shut the door. Change your mind. Have you lost your mind? The truth is I had lost my mind, but I had found my heart. My heart was leading the way and my mind was clouded with fear.
Sometimes in life, things seems crazy. I am not saying be irrational or irresponsible, but if crazy means giving up “stuff” to live life and enjoy my family, then I am a little crazy. I would also be crazy not too. I have never heard anyone have a regret of spending too much time with their family or having too much fun. Life is short. Seconds make minutes, minutes make hours, hours make the day, and our days make our lives. Don’t let fear dictate your days.
After 2 years on the road, I have not looked back in the rearview mirror of life with regrets on making the leap. I am excited to see what is up ahead on this journey as we buckle up and enjoy the ride.