Have Ya Ever / Reflections

Have Ya Ever?
   Have ya ever went back to the beginning of your blog, (those of you who write blogs) and read it from the very start of writing it, to present day?  Well,I did just that! I wanted to see what worked, and what is still just a dream for us. Kinda like a reality check! What was then and what is now, cos sometimes we make plans, and for some reason or another they stall. How many of our plans actually became a reality? Did it make me sad, yes a bit, but it also made me proud of the things we accomplished. Things we were able to do despite the odds being stacked against us! So while we haven't accomplished all of our Dream, we have been able to realize some of them. Besides, we make dreams so we will have something to look forward to, a goal if you will, I prefer to embrace what we have realized, and not dwell on the things that have not happened.  I am optimistic,  that we will eventually come out on top, and have our dream of full timing. Until then, we will keep getting experience, and making memories! So have ya ever, will ya ever, or should ya ever, go back to the beginning of your blog, and see what ya could have done differently?
   
What Didn't Work?
   The big one for us was becoming Full Time Rvers. Did it happen, not yet, we're still waiting! Too, many things have gotten in the way. The biggest is, although we are retired, we still have a house mortgage, a payment on the fiver,and now another truck payment, because of the accident we were in, in 2011. It totaled our Dodge truck, (that we had just payed off) and we had to find another truck that would tow the fiver. We found the Beast, and it is a good truck, but another payment we have to make. So that takes up a lot of money with those 3 bills! We were within reach of our Dream  in October of 2011 when we paid off the Dodge!. Then one month later the accident happened. Our youngest Son was taking over the mortgage on the house. He lost his job in May of 2012,(and he still hasn't been able to find a new one) and we had to resume making the house payments. So I guess you could say that the years 2011 and 2012  were not  good years for us. Not something we had money put back to cover. We are just now getting used to the new budget, and getting over the injuries from our accident. Our lawsuit for the accident has not been settled, and probably won't be until some time late this year. That is when the trial is supposed to take place anyway, it may not be settled right then, at least money wise!
   So now we are kind of in limbo. That is why we decided to go half time this year, to see what we are able to do. We figured at least half time is better than no time! So we have had to adjust our dream to at least have some of it, in order for us to not feel completely cheated. What would you have done? Giving up is not an option for us, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing either.
   Most people, when they decide on the lifestyle of Full Timing sell their sticks and bricks house. Then they use that money to buy their Rv, and tow vehicle, or a motor home.  So they have no payments to worry about, everything is paid for. Maybe that is what we should have done too. Our house would have been worth more then, than it is now too. Yes, looking back I can see where we made mistakes, and we do have regrets also. Had we done that we would have been able to Full Time without all the financial difficulties we have had. Our retirement would have been able to sustain the lifestyle of Full Time Rving. Isn't hindsight wonderful!? As I said we're not ready to give up on our Dream just yet, we need to think positive and see what the rest of 2013 brings.

So What Worked:
   So far, this is what worked. We were able to get our fiver, a truck, and most of the things needed to have for the Rv lifestyle. The things that we don't have, are really just wants, not something that we need to Rv with this year. We have most everything that we needed inside the fiver, including, a small extra fridge,and a small extra freezer. The only other thing we need for this year, I hope, is a new Rv battery  for the fiver. Everything else we already have. Such as outdoor chairs, bikes, cook ware, grill etc... Anything else should be a small fix, like maybe new chocks, or things of that nature. Another thing that worked, is we had experience! We weren't newbies to the Rv / camping lifestyle. We have had Rv's since 1983. From a 16 ' trailer, to fifth wheels, to park models, but no motor homes. Some people who start full timing have no experience with an Rv, or even camping. We already loved camping, and the idea of being in, and enjoying nature. We have  always had the wonder lust of wanting to be able to visit  new places in this great country of ours. We also knew what items we needed to take with us, from all the mistakes we had already made when we camped.

Reflections:
   So we had plenty of experience and knew what to expect, and how to entertain ourselves without things like televisions,etc...   Of course now we don't have to do without computers, phones, Internet, television, or any of those kind of things now. We are able to have the best of both worlds at home, or in the fiver. So some things worked when we started our journey and some we had to adapt to make work. On the whole we have accomplished most of it. We'd do it again in a heartbeat, with a few minor changes! The most important one being to have more money saved up! So while our Full Time Rv journey has hit a detour in the road, that doesn't mean we have to stop, we'll just go around the detour, or follow the detour, we'll eventually get where we were going! Life itself is a journey, and detours happen all the time, but everyone just keeps going, putting one foot in front of the other! Pretty soon you eventually get where you were going! So  a detour we can handle, as long as we have the strength to keep plodding down life's highway!  So We'll see ya down the road on that highway, probably during and after the detour! Until next time Friends...