Riding the waves

The girls and I leave for Minnesota on Tuesday morning and we are all very excited.  Scott will stay here in Arizona until he's done with work at the end of the month.  He'll also have the computer which means I won't be uploading any new pictures for the next few weeks unless they're taken with my phone.  I am going to try and do some blogging while we're away, but I'm not going to make any guarantees.

Before I sign off to finish packing our suitcase, I thought I should fill you in on the latest developments.

A few nights ago, Scott and I had a long and emotional discussion about our living arrangements and what our plans were for the future.  Even though we're trying to take this journey one state at a time, we can't help but think about what the future holds for this family of four.  Arizona has been very hard on most of us. The dry, hot conditions have made it especially difficult on me which then reflects on the lives of our kids.  They don't get out as much as they should be and instead are cooped up in this really small living space.  I suppose all of my emotions have been building up over time and have finally come to fruition.  On the exterior, it may seem as though we're enjoying life and all it has to offer and although I have committed myself to telling the truth on this blog, some things just couldn't be shared, not even to Scott for fear of the outcome.

The truth is... I'm lonely, feeling cramped, crabby, and miss all the things we used to call home.  It's funny how moving away makes you appreciate the things you took for granted on a daily basis.  Don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed all of our site seeing, eating out, vacations, and what have you, but living this way isn't easy.

You'd think that the kids would easily adapt to our living situations, which they have, but Maria asks almost on a daily basis about living in a house and reminisces about memories from our old lives.  Her bed, her toys, the beach, the park, Grandma's, Nonny's, etc.  In this small space, they don't have room to grow and play.  The monotony and boredom of the day shows in the way they play and interact with one another and also by their behavior towards Scott and I.  Perhaps after leaving Arizona our feelings towards our living situation would change and we would once again feel confident in our decision to live this life, but because of who we are and the way we tend to make decisions, we had to act sooner than later.

Knowing that there was a better possibility of selling the trailer here rather than in Minnesota, Scott decided to list it on Craigslist as well as the Airstream Classifieds... just to see what would happen.  That next day he received a call from a man in Idaho who was foreclosing on his house and wanted our trailer to live in.  Scott received another call from someone else in Indiana who also wanted it.  Wow!  Things were happening sooner than expected.  After several calls back and forth, a deal had been made.  John from Idaho was coming on Thursday to purchase our trailer for a price we could all agree on.  Now we can only hope that he follows through on the deal.

Yes, quick decisions makers are who we are, but so far things have usually worked out in the end.  Scott will go camping over the weekend and then live in an extended stay living facility until it's time to leave for MN.

Now, this does not mean that we're done traveling.  We still intend on traveling out to the northeast corner for the remainder of the summer and into the fall, and quite possibly somewhere else after that... Hawaii??  The only thing that will be different is our living arrangement.  There are nice extended stay facilities all over the country as well as furnished apartments available for travel nurses like Scott.  We will no longer have worries over the Airstream which will be a heavy weight lifted off our shoulders.

Plans of moving back to Minnesota next winter or spring are becoming a more likely situation and we'll be sure to fill you in on those developments in the coming months.

Although we didn't last a whole year of living this lifestyle, we are thrilled to say we've done it.  It definitely hasn't been easy and when something is no longer healthy or working for your family, you have to make adjustments.  Hopefully this step will allow us to see a bit more of this amazing country in which we live.