Coming Home - 14,000 miles later!

April 30th

The last long drive with Big Bend - 8+ hours from Lake Tahoe to home! I think we all were in a bit of disbelief...is this journey really over? We all had mixed emotions, except for Sandie who really missed Grandma and couldn't stand laying in the truck for hours on end. On one hand, we all missed the space of home, our friends, and not having to worry about whether we'd get a nice place to park our house the next week! On the other, especially for Mary Margaret and me, we knew that this would mean an end to the 24/7 family time we had with the boys the past 8 months.

When I look back at the trip...especially writing this post now, almost 1 year to the day that we left last year...it's hard to believe what we accomplished. What do we miss the most?

Adventure. The next stop - not knowing exactly what it will bring. Getting the RV parked was always at least a little interesting, and working as a team to get things setup and packed up when it was time to leave. I am so proud of the boys for taking responsibilities seriously (most of the time) when it came to the transition between stops. I am also very proud of Mary Margaret and I keeping our sense of humor, and working together to make sure everyone was having fun.

Family time. It's not really until now that I realize what a gift all that time together was. Sure, there were times where we annoyed each other. But, being together in such close quarters for the better part of a year forced us to interact constantly. And, I'm sure that the trip forged a better bond and relationship between Keegan and Cullen. I am so happy how they played together, walked Sandie together, and worked with their Mom so hard on school work. It was a year we will always remember.

Simplicity. Maintaining, moving, and connecting our mobile house was a little complex, true. We learned that there are many things we take for granted at home like...WiFi...flushing toilets without filling the bowl, the DISHWASHER! It wasn't simple to keep all these things going while we sustained work, and school throughout the year. However, life was simpler without as many things to keep you busy otherwise. We had more time on our hands to play games, spend time with each other, and...sometimes, to just be. Don't get me wrong, we were BUSY! But, it seemed like we had more time for each other.

We feel very blessed that we were given this opportunity in what, for many people, was a very difficult year. It is something that we will always remember, and when the boys have their own families someday, will probably look back on how crazy their parents were. Though, we do hope they will really come to appreciate what an amazing opportunity they had, and try to do something similar with their own children.