I can hardly believe we’ve been in the camper for 2 months!
Really.
It seems like we’ve always lived in here and that is not necessary a bad thing.
I’ve tried real hard to always be honest about our experience and NOT sugar-coat anything that we’ve been dealing with. We’ve had our share of challenges and blessings. I’ve received calls from concerned family members, multiple times. But we are doing very well! For reals.
The close quarters have forced us to deal with things and pushed us outside of our comfort zone. We have worked through the frustrations of being so close all the time.
Don’t get me wrong, there are times when it’s still annoying, but those times are getting to be fewer and fewer.
2 months in here and these are my thoughts on camper living.
The Challenges
Sickness. We’ve been fighting sickness since right before we moved in the camper. Someone mentioned that maybe we were suffering the effects of all the formaldehyde associated with a new camper. That is highly possible and we’re researching ways to purify the air in the camper. I’m thinking that that issue is causing us all to have weakened immune systems. We’ve all caught nearly every bug that has gone around the local area and have slowly passed it among the 6 of us.
Cooped Up Kids. The kids have been more cooped up, especially on cold days. Mark and I have had to (and still are trying to) adjust to the noise level and their need to be a little rowdy in the camper. We’re working on it and I’m grateful we have each other to remind the other when one of us gets uptight.
Privacy Issues. A friend, who use to live in a toy hauler, mentioned something similar to me very recently. Basically, if someone stands outside, near the camper, they can hear our entire conversation. Seriously. We really don’t have privacy. The campground we live at has pretty well cleared out for the winter. Still our lives are on display and that pretty much leaves no room for hypocrisy. Which really is a good thing, just an adjustment that we’re still working on.
Cooped up Mom. We are a 1 vehicle family, so when Mark is at work I’m here. all day. with the kids. I’m grateful for my friend, Alicia. She is my sounding board and a great listener and support to have so near to us. I’ve always been the sort of mom that thought I didn’t need to get time to myself. That I could just buck up and do what needed to be done. I’m finding that that is not the case. We’ve recently had to set aside time for me to get away by myself every week. I may not always need that time, but for now this is what we’re finding is necessary, especially given our living situation.
No Baths. As funny as it sounds I miss having a bathtub. That is probably the only thing that really bothers me about the way the camper was designed. The kids are adjusted to taking showers, but I still miss a bath. I think once the pool re-opens this summer I’ll be a walking prune from being in there all day.
The Blessings.
Child Training. The way we are raising our kids is something we are more purposeful about since the issues are so near to us. We can’t just send them to their room or ignore the issues. We HAVE to deal with it and very little escapes our eyes throughout the day.
Minimal Stuff. We have less stuff and less desire to buy more stuff. We are very careful about any purchase we make and find that there is so little we actually need.
Time. More time is spent together as a family and free time to pursue other interests or priorities.
Sleep. We are sleeping great and that says something especially consider how things were at the start of our adventure!
Puppy Potty Training. Potty training Pepper has gone so well, I couldn’t be more pleased with our little pup! I’m almost inspired to try training my almost 3 year old again. (Yes I have an almost 3 year old that is still in diapers.)
So there you have it.
** These are my thoughts on camper living, (and remember we aren’t traveling yet) But we are doing great ya’ll!!
No need to call and make sure we are not losing our minds.
We’re normal people. We are not perfect and sometimes situations are difficult. But we have joy! And that’s what really matters.