March 6, 2022
When we left Wheaton we weren't sure if we'd made it the full 8 weeks. Benjamin wasn't sure the RV would make it all the way to CA, however, here we are on our last day in AZ before officially beginning our trek home, via Laredo and Dallas to visit family. As I have reflected on our trip this past week, I am so thankful for this special time as a family and for being able to make a dream become reality. When we set out, I thought by 8 weeks I'd be very eager to return home, and while we are at 6 weeks, I don't have any sense of urgency or eagerness to get home. It has been great to explore the country together and yet, to return to the comforts of "home" (the Leviathan aka RV). You know that feeling you have at the end of vacation, a longing to return to your own bed...I don't have that feeling. (We did invest in a decent mattress before our trip and it is quite comfortable.) Around 2 weeks in Benjamin asked if I thought I could live in the RV for a year and the answer was, "NO." Keep in mind, at that point we had no running water and no shower available to us in the RV. Now 6 weeks in my answer would be different. I would say, "Yes, with some modifications to the RV." I would like to believe owning an RV and adventuring with an RV are in our future.
This week I realized the end drawing near is a bittersweet. The days have been relaxed and slower, which is such a treat. The scenery has been colorful (at times), majestic, and always different. Seeing the shadows on the various mountains at different times of the day highlights different faces and aspects of the mountainsides. To live a dream and see the dream coming to an end - that is the bittersweet part. I might add it feels a little scary to return home. There is still uncertainly about what is next and how soon "what's next" will take place. Waiting can be uncomfortable and a little (or a lot) unsettling at times. We continue to pray about what God has for us and where he will lead us. His timing is perfect and I have found in the last year I am able live contentedly by striving to be present each day with what I have before me to do and the people who are in that space.
Tomorrow we will load up and close up the RV and say, good-bye to Arivaca and the Voss family. The two weeks we've spend here in southern AZ have been refreshing. While it often isn't hard to leave a campground, leaving the Three Pines Campground, on the Voss families land will be sad. The kids have made some good friends here. I've enjoyed getting to know this dear family and to do some school alongside them. This past week we enjoyed sharing our read aloud time and nature journaling with them. (If you're wondering we are reading the book Home Sweet Alaska. I hope we are able to see the Voss family again sometime. We shared pudgie-pie making around a campfire and swapped campfire songs. The kids learned about caring for goats, attempted to start a fire with grass and a magnifying glass, and Gabriella was able to go for a horse ride. We were got to attend cowboy church for the first time and we all got to ride in the blue bus! Thank you Voss family for welcoming us into your lives for these past 2 weeks.
Ester
No comments:
Post a Comment