Reality Check

I have sat down to write this post several times now, but I have struggled with getting my thoughts down in words. There are people out there who envy us and the journey we are about to begin: the simple life, the adventure, the experiences. And then there are people out there who think we are crazy. There is truth to both viewpoints. We sold almost everything to simplify our life, but I have to be real with you, the camp life isn’t all about campfires, smores and swinging in a hammock drinking sweet tea. There are things about this new life that require huge amounts of patience, grace, flexibility, more patience, and a real sense of humor. There is a learning curve full of challenges: learning electrical loads, tripping fuses, switching propane tanks, single digit temperatures, dealing with frozen hoses and tanks. Of course, most of this happens in the middle of the night, leaving you out in the cold and dark, watching for glowing eyes in the distance, knowing bears have been spotted nearby. Then there is the whole flu scene in a camper. Running to the camp bathroom in the middle of the night to hug a nasty trashcan, kids throwing up all over the place, sharing everything, including the air we breathe, guaranteeing that every last one of us would wind up in bed with fever/chills and the body aches. Are you still jealous? Yeah, I didn’t think so. The trip from the romance of “camp life” to the reality of life in a camper hasn’t been a blast. Are we questioning our decision to sell all and give up comfort and convenience for adventure and experiences? No, not even for a second. Life isn’t always easy, and letting our kids believe that it is supposed to be, I think would be a disservice. I hope they learn from this experience that hard work is rewarding, that comfort and convenience are overrated, that they can do anything they set their minds to do. I hope we can show them that with a lot of dreams in life, there is the romance of the idea and then the reality of it. But isn’t that the nature of a dream?! Nobody “dreams” about challenges and hardships, but doesn’t anything of real value usually cost something? The key is having the sticktoitiveness to push thru the reality of the challenges, in order to experience the romance and magic of the dream. So there you have it, consider the last two weeks a reality check. Now…. on with the adventure!