This is So Not a Vacation

Can we be clear here. This thing we are doing – living in an RV for a year - is no vacation. We are not waking up each morning wondering if we should go swimming or play croquet.

We do not send our laundry out.

We are not drinking gin and tonics watching the sunset over the rockies. But we could. And on second thought - we should!

This is a lot tougher than I ever imagined. Not that it is all bad mind you, but we are running a household and being school teachers, companions and parents in a tiny space. Of course to quote Simon, "We have a little house, but the whole world is our garden."

All the stuff we dealt with in terms of parenting and chores are still with us. Parenthood: you can run but you can’t hide.

This morning’s conversation was about allowances. We had previously decided that allowances were suspended during the RV trip but there has been a mutiny among the troops. The proposal on the table, as presented by Counselor/CFO Josh, would be for Josh to get $4 a week and Simon $3. That is one dollar a day less from the family budget of $110/day.

I thought that sounded a bit high. What do they need to spend all that money on each week? I thought after getting rid of bags and bags of useless plastic objects when we moved had made an impact. The boys said they needed that money in order to save up for Christmas gifts for us. Here is the dilemma: Do we give our kids money so they can save it to give back to us in the form of Christmas gifts?

We decided that Josh would get $2 a week and Simon $1.50 cash, and that we would keep the remaining $2 and $1.50 would go into a Christmas savings account that they would get in a lump sum the first week of December. The money could be used to buy each other gifts.

But they can make gifts for Evan and me, family and friends and Mom and Dad would pay for the supplies. We will each come up with proposals on what we can make and when we are in Hood River in a proper house for a few weeks over Thanksgiving we will make the gifts. Let’s see how it works.

Right now we are in Yellowstone National Park camping in Fishing Bridge. We drove up here from the Grand Tetons National Park where they have a great Urgent Care. Simon has strep throat so we now have a 10 day supply of Amoxicillian in the fridge.

Real life skills we have taught the kids in the last month:

How laundromats work.
How to budget.
How to make Ramen noodles into a meal with added vegetables and chicken.
How to dry dishes.
How to use a bike lock.
How to tie shoes.
How speedometers and odometers work.
The difference between gas and propane.

And most importantly, how to take a shower with very little water.

Here is the Shower Ritual:

1. Remove bag of dirty laundry that is stored in shower stall. Put on bed.

2. Remove laundry basket full of cleaning supplies, bags of potatoes, onions and apples. Put on bed.

3. Open bathroom door so it swings back for privacy from kitchen and rest of RV and gives you an extra 2 feet of room.

4. Adjust water.

5. Get wet.

6. Turn off water

7. Soap up

8. Turn on water and rinse off

9. Dry shower stall with dirty t shirt.

10. Get dressed in tiny space

11. Put stuff back.

But the shower does work. We do get clean. And at this camp ground there is a water hook up so we have as much water as we want!

Is it worth it? Well, the highs are high – like right now. It is 6:30 am. Simon is asleep. Evan and Josh just left to ride bikes in the dark to the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center to meet up with a group for a 5 hour class on Wildlife Photography. Simon – assuming he feels better – and I will have breakfast, do a little school work, work on his Junior Ranger Badge and take a bike ride through unparalleled beauty.

So while this is not a vacation, it is an adventure. Get over yourself Wendy – it is so not about the shower.

Tomorrow onwards to Devil’s Tower.