I'm amazed at the overwhelming opposition to my idea, especially from my family. I figured the people who knew me best would be the most unsurprised and the most excited for me. But that's not how it's gone so far. Lizzie wants not only nothing to do with this, she'd prefer me not leave until she's done with high school (two more years unless she works to graduate early). And not only would she prefer me not go off in a RV, she doesn't want me to move at all. Period. (More on why I'd move before doing the RV thing later.) Even William, the child who is most similar to me as far as a sense of adventure goes, has no interest and supports Lizzie's opposition to moving. I'm not sure I understand what's going on.
Had someone asked me, when I was in high school, if I wanted to go off and tour the continent, free of charge, with people I know and love, I'd have jumped all over the opportunity without a moment's hesitation. Of course I realize that my children are not me, but I'm nonetheless surprised by their reactions. As I mentioned before, Lizzie is currently being homeschooled. Can you imagine a better way to study American history, geography, literature, heck, even math (Please calculate the amount of fuel we'll need to budget for the next month if we plan to go here and here and here...) than seeing, exploring, and doing it all first hand? The entire continent as your classroom!
I can't.
But Lizzie, obviously, can.
But in all fairness, I've sorta thrown this idea at her full force the course of just the past few days. Hopefully she'll come around as we talk and plan more. If not, though, well, I guess I'll push out my launch date until she's done with high school and has a plan for what she'll do afterward. (Maybe she'll come traveling with me?!)
While all of that plays out, though, I think I have a plan to help facilitate my ultimate goal: I'd like to go ahead and buy a storage shed and begin to put those things we'd like to keep but can live without in it. Start gussying the house up for putting it on the market. (At the very least I need to paint the interior, spruce up the hardwoods, clean the carpets, and buy some new appliances. If there's time/money I'd like to remodel the two downstairs bathrooms and install new counter tops in the kitchen. Oh, and make some landscape changes.) Then, once it sells, we could rent an apartment or smaller house with a much smaller monthly payment. That way, as long as I remain employed we can put away, in theory, quite a bit of money towards our RV goal until such time as Lizzie is out on her own. In the event I don't remain employed (layoffs happen all the time around here), we could survive on just Donald's income until we either take off in the RV or I find another job/go back to school/what have you.
Bottom line, what makes me the most nervous in general is the fact that, should my employer decide to declare me redundant or simply unnecessary, I'm going to be a bind. We currently have to have two incomes to pay the mortgage and all the bills. I love the house, and all the space and amenities it affords, but I don't love feeling as though it's crushing the life out of me. So even if I don't head off in the RV anytime soon, I still need to do some major downsizing.
For those who haven't heard the story, I bought the house I bought so that my elderly (and now deceased) paternal grandmother could live with us. The house I owned previously wasn't big enough for all of us and the house Donald owned didn't have a downstairs bedroom. So we sold his house, rented my house out (sold it eventually), and bought this house: a four bedroom, three bathroom, 3000 sq ft, two-story home on a half-acre of land in a golf course community. (Yeah, never again will I live in a HOA-governed community, and especially one that involves a golf course!) And even though we currently have all three of my children living in it with us, it's still more house than I need. I'm a small house gal. I like bungalows and cottages. McMansion-types do nothing for me (even though I have to admit, it is sometimes nice to not be able to hear every little thing that goes on in every little part of the house).
Anyway, point is, we don't need a house that size and, should something happen to my job, we can't afford a house that size, so I want to do something about the situation. Ideally, and obviously, I want to buy a RV and live in it full-time until I've seen all I care to see, but until all the pieces fall into place to make that happen, I can at least work to extricate myself from my current housing and financial situation. (Unfortunately, Lizzie is equally opposed to my moving at all as she is going off in a RV--she's just going to have to get over that, though. Either that or be prepared to live under a bridge if I lost my job.)
Before I end my post, I want to address my aunt's comment on my previous post: No, I'm not unhappy. At least not on a personal or relationship level. Not in the least. My husband is my best friend, my children are my heart, and I have zero complaints about my personal growth and development. If I'm "unhappy" at all it is because of the precarious financial position I could very well find myself in if (when) the time comes that the company makes more cuts. And to be totally honest, I'm not exceptionally happy with doing what I'm doing anyway. I'd just as soon not do it, if I could afford not to do it. Instead, I'd prefer to spend my time enjoying the company of my husband and my children. Ideally we will eventually spend our time together traveling in a RV, but in the meantime, every day I spend working for The Man is one less day I've spent doing the things I feel are important, with the people who are important in my life.
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