Pink Lemonade
We figured out where we want to live!
We started off December with a wild idea that we could buy property in BC while we were in California. We even vlogged about it. No, that video hasn’t been posted yet. It’s to come. We were homesick, and things were not peaceful and relaxing in San Diego. Why NOT think about real estate back in Canada?
Another conversation we started having was about going home for Christmas. This gave us direction for the month ahead. Thinking about a home base gave us a plan for 2019. I was happy! Jamie was happy! I needed something to be happy about.
We both appreciated that we had a roof over our heads, that our Coffee House provided us a secure place to live while we searched for a life less burdened than the one we had left on Vancouver Island. We were working on having fewer worries and living more.
We wanted to leave our daughter with something when we died, and this would be an investment she could build on as well. We saw an exciting life ahead for us, and the best part was we could plan and prepare for this life while we were wintering down south.
It was taking a lot of energy, but we were making things happen that we’d never dared before to do. We were becoming better versions of ourselves. Whether we were or not, we definitely felt we were.
We found out that getting the property set up was going to use all of the budget we set aside, but we still wouldn’t have a dwelling to live in. Doubt crept into the plan we’d created. Were we meant to keep looking? It was a challenge to make a decision and stick to it. We tried not to think about our daughter and where she was going to settle down eventually, but how could we distance ourselves from her by looking east for a new home? I started having twinges for items in storage, I wondered if we would remain debt free, I questioned when we could return to Canada to work. We needed more space and a break from Coffee House living. There wasn’t a day I didn’t think about all of this.
We loved walking to the waterfront parks and going to In-N-Out Burger on the way back to get pink lemonade with lunch or dinner. We spent less that month than we had previous months because we were enjoying these simpler things in life. Chores around the trailer were shared. We collaborated on creative projects. I was planning out another season of blog posts and formulating where I was going to go next with my fiction work-in-progress.
Then my bubble would burst. There were days I didn’t talk to anyone, not even Jamie. I would wake up the next morning amazed that my husband still loved me. I was up and then I was down. Like a hot flash, I was unpredictable.
Humidity levels in our trailer can get high. It’s not good for us. We monitor areas where mildew may flourish, like in the corners, the bathroom, under our mattress. Being able to open the windows and get fresh air inside helps with the humidity. It’s a simple act that also clears our heads. A dehumidifier improves the air quality enormously while we’re inside. That’s why we make sure we have the right tools to address simple problems like humidity and keep a positive mental state about change.
Mindset is often a hard mountain to move. We’re looking for an end date for our travel. The feeling that we could be doing more hasn’t gone away. When we have rough days, and those days turn into weeks, we try and balance the uncertainty of what we don’t have, or what we haven’t done, by looking at what we’ve achieved.
It’s not a uniform, but I do consider it uniform dressing. Also, it's not a job; I keep busy with projects I love. Having a simple wardrobe takes up less space, uses fewer resources to launder, and most importantly, requires less decision-making energy. I use that extra energy to learn and create. That is progress made towards a life less burdened.