OK, so every time I try to head out on the road, something happens to delay it. Our first planned long-term road trip ended much sooner than planned. First, the RV sprung an exhaust leak 2 days before we were due to leave, causing us to live in the van and a tent for what turned out to be a month, as that was all the kids could stand before turning into something from a zombie movie. Our "around the country" road trip turned into a "to the Keys and back" trip, but what we did see and experience was pretty great. Second, we had some regression of behaviors in several children ... luckily not all at the same time. Third, I allowed myself to feel alienated from the people I had planned to meet on the road due to children's said behaviors. And last, there were 2 issues with the sticks and bricks house we left behind: the water heater broke and flooded the basement then a pipe in the upstairs bathroom caused a rain shower in the kitchen. My adult son took care of the water heater and I took care of the rest when I got back ... by totally gutting the upstairs bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, and half bath downstairs. Four months worth of construction later and it's almost finished! Ahhhhh.
In the meantime, I dared to attend another RV rally. I even purchased a Thousand Trails membership, in anticipation of the traveling we plan to do. I'm happy to say, we had a blast. No RV problems. No behavior problems, except for a few "argument seeking" words at bedtime. No house problems. I was able to enjoy myself, have fun with my children, and meet new people. Some awesome people. Of course, I had prepped the kiddos for months in order to avoid the same problems we had at the last rally. We were even ON TIME! Unusual for us. We barely made it to the kick-off because the RV park maintenance guy was quite the talker. I guess he could see I was a newbie. He had many tips for us. We enjoyed participating in all the family activities with other families and spent much time enjoying the pool and water park. We now are VERY motivated to get back on the road as quickly as possible.
My greatest moment: When my little raddish snuggled with me one morning (after the "argument seeking" words he threw at me the night before), apologized, then looked at me and said, "Moms are like God; when you do the wrong thing, then apologize, you're always forgiven." I am so blessed and thankful for much progress in these healing hearts.
