The weeks leading up to departure

I got a text from my mom today while folding laundry; “6 weeks until I get to see my chunkles!” Chunkles: her word of endearment when referring to her grandchildren, our 6 and 3 y/o, respectively. See, we kind of kicked my parents out of their house on June 1st and the plan is to meet up with them on September 1st in the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. Our house sold quickly and my mom offered up their house down the block so we could finish the rest of the summer here in Baltimore City- and we took them up on it. They hit the road to start their van life adventure while we moved into their house and continue to get our ducks in line before heading out west to start adventuring together!

So as I finish up some campsite reservations, get (our daughter) un-enrolled from her previous school and enrolled as a homeschooler and busy myself with organizing the van and making “to do” lists, my stomach turns with nerves of excitement. It’s not black and white, it never is. We have uprooted during a really beautiful time in our life. We live in a community where we are connected to neighbors and friends, we have stable jobs that provide both a sense of pride and accomplishment as well as financial stability and we’re just starting to see our kids’ independence giving us a renewed sense of freedom and joy as parents. But I love change, and I have a loving husband who is willing to humor me and go along with the crazy! We fully recognize that the timing of this venture is right for right now albeit not easy. It’s not easy to change things up when things are working, but it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. Most would agree that it is easier to stay the course, but we are acutely aware that time is fleeting; it’s the nature of existence. Not to mention there are only so many years where our kids will see us as the heroes in their lives and we want to maximize on that reality. And so, we are t – 4.5weeks until we hit the road as full time #vanlife travelers!