Why RV?

        Since we decided to sell our home and go on the road there have been a number of people who have not understood our decision.  First of all, I admit that it is not an easy thing to do.  It requires giving up the stability of a stationary home.  We had to get rid of a lot of stuff.  Simply because the space in a recreational vehicle is limited.  It can be a little scary to place oneself in a seemingly homeless position.  And, it isn’t easy knowing that some of your friends think you have basically lost it.  We have had a lot of people ask us where we are going to live.  Having never experienced this way of life, we understand how many are perplexed.

        About eight years ago we bought our first RV, a twenty-three foot travel trailer.  We acquired it as a place to live in while we sold one home and purchased another.  After the house thing was taken care of, we used the RV as it was intended, for camping trips.  Since we both worked in education and had summers off, we took some road trips.  These road trips actually started without an RV – we tent camped.  On these early trips we started seeing just how accessible the beauty of our country is.  After a trip to Yellowstone in the travel trailer we decided that we needed something a little larger.  So, we traded it in on a twenty-seven foot fifth wheel travel trailer with a slide out in the living area.  Wow!  What a difference that slide out made!  We took two major road trips in the fifth wheel in 2005 and 2007, along with many smaller road trips.  As we traveled throughout the nation we met many wonderful people.  Some of these were full-time RVers.  That is, people who live in their RV all of the time.  We were intrigued.  However, we really didn’t think it was for us.  Until we found that when we had to end our two month road trips we didn’t really want to.  We discovered that life on the road can be wonderful.  In ‘07 as we sat outside our rig enjoying a beautiful Montana sunset I said to Una, “You know, no matter what RV we could have it would never be as big as our house, but every night we step out into God’s living room and it is immense and beautiful!”  It was nearly a year later when Una said she thought she would like to become a full-time RVer.  So, we started the preparation.  It was no small feat getting everything slimmed down to fit into a RV.  However, we were determined to do it if it meant giving stuff away.  Fortunately, we were able to sell most of it.  After retirement, we were able to sell the house, get what was left into our RV and a small storage shed at our daughter, Shannon’s, house.  We can see how that one day we will probably do another slim down to get rid of the storage shed.  It may be hard to believe, but when we got rid of all the stuff we felt a tremendous weight being removed.  It is a very freeing experience.  When we hit the road we made a pact that if either one of us decides that we are through with this lifestyle we will stop and move back into a stationary house.  That day has not yet come, and we really can’t imagine it coming.  We are loving the lifestyle.  We still have a home; it just happens to be on wheels.  Our home is now a thirty-eight foot motorhome with two slide-outs, one in the living area and one in the bedroom.  It kind of feels like living in a small apartment without people on the other side of the walls, ceiling, or floor.  The rest of our home is the United States.  We are still stepping out into God’s living room every night.  Our cost of living is actually less than it was with a stationary house.  We have seen sights that defy description, met many wonderful people, had varied church experiences (our church home in the Houston area refers to us as their mobile church), and find ourselves free to go and do whatever we please.  We honestly do not miss being tied to a stationary house.  To those who think we have lost it, we can only say, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.  I will say that having the internet has been a wonderful asset.  We are able to keep up with family, old friends, and new friends.  It also enables us to take care of business conveniently.  I know that this lifestyle is not for everyone, but I can’t help but wonder how many would choose it if they could experience what we have.

Being a Dad

        From viewing the crystal blue eyes of my newborn son, to seeing a beautiful daughter a nurse had to convince me was mine, to a daughter with a thatch of red hair looking like she was wanting to fight, being a dad has defined my life for the past forty years.  There is nothing that has given me more pleasure.  It has been the fulfillment of dreams having existed since I was a small boy.

        Having come from a family with an abusive father, it has always been my goal to be the very best father I could be.  However, the real challenge came from not having the proper example.  So, I prepared with classes on child development and psychology.  Yet, the real breakthrough came when I committed my life to Christ and looked to my heavenly Father as an example.  Even though I can’t claim perfection, my life is proof of having taken fatherhood serious to the extreme.  None of my children will ever be able to say that I have abused them in any way.  Each of them will always be able to give testimony to my unconditional love.  I am proud of them individually for their own merits.  And, even though I would like to think I have had a part, each of them have become successful adults through their own efforts.

        My children mean more to me than anything.  They are among the greatest gifts I have ever received from God.  The only gifts greater are His love and my wife.  To have enjoyed the pleasure of parenting these precious gifts carries more meaning than I could possible delineate in this blog.  Each stage of their growth, from infancy through adulthood, has been a miraculous experience.  In each phase they have shown God’s greatest love to me.  From Rodney’s kungfuy, to Brook’s hatcha, to Shannon’s precise time-keeping, they have brought joy that can only be found in being a dad.  And now, as Rodney finds his way in the Lord, Shannon begins life with a new mate, and Brook continues to mother her brood, I continue to be elated in simply being their dad.