This all stirred back up in me 3 weeks ago when Vlad started a new job that's a 180 mile round trip from home. I couldn't keep up. The house, the kids, myself-- I got overwhelmed and knew that we needed a game changer. I couldn't keep living in this mess, the dishes, the toys the avalanche of laundry... and I didn't want to clean it because the second I did, it creeped right back in. The kids were constantly attention deprived and needy, and God knows I want to be with them, but I also need a little bit less mess in my life in order to function as the kind of mom I can be proud of at the end of the day. Now, I'm sure those Super Moms out there are thinking, "well why does your house get so out of control to begin with?" Well, to you I say, "I don't care what you're thinking-- you and your perfect house can suck it." It's true. None of us little piggy moms like you, you annoy us. Omg that's so rude, I know, but I would be too chicken to say it to your face so I'll just say it behind my screen. Anywho, mini rant out of the way, where was I at? Oh yes, the game changer attitude awakened the old desires and reminded me of myself at 18 trying to convince Vlad that we should buy a Van and live in it down by the river. He did not share my excitement over this idea and we closed the door on that conversation, until now.
What is this going to look like for us? Well, first off, we can keep maybe a tenth of our belongings, even though a trailer has more storage space than you would think-- simplifying our lives is more important to us right now than utilizing all of our storage compartments with anything that isn't absolutely necessary, brings us health or utter joy ;-) Second, we will no longer have the strict bedtimes for our boys that we adhered to for the last almost 4 years. This is a hard one for me, but I think an important trial for me to experience. Late bedtimes in childhood are a life mess that I want to be okay with. Third, our indoor space will be limited which will undoubtedly push us out into the world around us to explore, something that seems to be getting harder for younger generations to enjoy. Fourth, less walls means that we need to communicate with each other even if we don't want to. Less walls to separate us and tighter quarters to gently
Upon doing research on the subject of full time travel trailer living, I was pleasantly surprised that very many families do this. Some choose to live in a trailer while they are building the home of their dreams, others to be off the grid and self sustainable, while others just like us are tired of the rat race. For us especially, it hits harder in the Slavic community where certain expectations are applied to you without you even asking for it. The big house to store all the crap you don't really need while your husband toils to pay for the titanic sized mortgage. Screw that-- that's not what we want. We crave simplicity and the time to enjoy it for the gift that it is. I've heard a handful of people say to me in recent years "you know.. we were so much happier when things were more simple, when we had less money and less responsibilities." Yeah, I get you. So why do most of us keep pressing on to have all of this shit that complicates our lives? That puts distance between us and our kids? Maybe you really are supermom and the endless list of chores doesn't daunt you, then you are amazing. I seriously don't know how you do it all, because I've tried and I just can't and don't want to. Less clothing= less laundry. Less dishes=less time washing them.Tiny-ass fridge=less food wasted. Less toys=more time spent together. Smaller house=less distance between us.
Are we going to do this forever? Hell no. I'm excited about this journey ahead of us, but I long for a garden, chickens, even our cow Molly that I've already named. So first off, we become debt free by taking on a simple lifestyle with a simple mindset while we park on our family's acres. Second, we sell our cars and buy a truck to tow our house on wheels to National Parks, rivers, oceans, big cities and small. Third, we set aside some moolah to build a house of our own, nothing extravagant, just something to call our own and set down some roots for our boys. My husband has been blessed with a traveling job which will allow us to do this. So I will keep you guys updated (for those that are interested, maybe even a few supermoms who don't completely hate me after this post) on our new adventures. First up, updating and personalizing our Silver Streak to get it ready for move in on September 1st! Just put in our notice so the countdown is on!
