I can't remember when the idea first flashed through my mind. Perhaps the seed was planted when I was a young man and took my first great road trip across this magnificent country. It took years for the seed to germinate, but somewhere along the way it grew and finally bloomed.
The years pass too quickly. Our children are grown, and our retirement years were approaching. Where did the time go?
Neither my wife Diane nor I was ready to sit on the porch and swing together into eternity. As a developing family, we often took our children to wild and special places in
We began reading every RV travel magazine we could lay our hands on. Diane and I frequently went to RV shows, evaluating the manufacturers and their products. We found many models were more glitz and glimmer than guts. Many manufacturers pride themselves on decorative indoor lightings, elaborate mirrors, plush carpeting, fancy drapery and bed covering.
We also found poor engineering practices, weak chassis components and high price tags. A person who expects to live in an RV must look deep, get past kicking the tires and the salesman's glittery talk. It is best to know the product better than the salesman. Impulse buying should not be a consideration.
However, our biggest and most difficult decision was what to do with our home. This was exceptionally challenging for Diane. This was our sanctuary for so many years. All of our stuff was here, this was our castle in the woods, and our refuge of safety and security. It was a home where love flourished, where our children and grandchildren grew and sought out memories, laughter and good times.
I could tell Diane had moments when the thought of loss was heartbreaking. Yet we continued to speak of the thrill of adventure and exploration that lay ahead. Ultimately we decided it would be best to sell it.
On our last morning when the buyers arrived to inspect the property before property settlement, Diane and I walked to the porch door, turned and looked for the last time at what was our home for 27 years. It was empty, just bare walls. As we walked, hollow sounds rose from the wooden floors.
Another chapter in our life together was ending, a new chapter was about to begin. As we turned our Jeep around in the driveway, we took one last look. Diane had tears in her eyes, and I a lump in my throat. It is truly a bittersweet experience.
We have found in life that a couple usually must sacrifice something to attain something else. We left behind a big house we no longer needed, a house that would become difficult to maintain in our older years.
We left behind rising property and income taxes that would drain our retirement savings. We left behind a house to attain freedom on the road, independent financial security and a new lifestyle of being on "our own sweet time."
It was a difficult decision yet a rewarding one.