One Year on the Road

Gaining confidence.

As I had hoped for, the final leg of our journey home was smooth and uneventful. Exiting Seattle on a quiet Sunday morning was a breeze compared to our bumbling entrance. I-5 traffic stayed relatively light all day, and the weather was clear until the last 30 miles when thick fog settled in.

Kate drove most of the way, her confidence multiplying with each mile. I took the wheel enough to get my “road legs” back and ease my earlier anxieties. These Class A beasts are meant for interstates, and if you keep a steady pace and avoid switching lanes, driving them is really not that hard. It’s just that we started with all the tricky stuff.

Kate and Sherry: friends since elementary school.

We stopped in outer Portland for a quick visit with Kate’s childhood friend, Sherry and her husband, David. They had just moved up from California, and we hadn’t seen them in several years.

We arrived at home just after dark, with an eager welcome committee awaiting us. Our neighbor, Kathleen, and her granddaughter, Madison, rushed down the street for an in-coach visit. Our son, Jesse, and his girlfriend, Taylor, drove right over for a tour. Bailey sniffed every cranny of the interior and settled into her new dog bed under the dinette.

When we were back in the house, just us, I had a pinch-me moment, looking out on our rig parked in front, and my emotions were mixed. I couldn’t get over the fact that we’d actually bought this thing and are going to live in it for a year. But I also was filled with all those good-to-be-home feelings that come after even just a weekend away. Warmed by the excitement of family and friends, enjoying a hot tub, settling into my favorite chair in front of a pellet stove blaze, crawling into our own comfy bed. I love getting away, but I love coming home just as much, and that night I was acutely aware of all the things I love about our home and our lives here.

There’s no turning back now, and I wouldn’t want to, but this leap of faith is not all smooth sailing. Kate is still full-tilt forward, and she can’t wait to be able to leave her job and hit the road. Me, too. But my emotions stutter sometimes. Yes, but– Yes, but– Yes, but.

When that happens, I just keep packing, one box at a time. Or tackle a project on the white-board list. The next day, Kate and I both had the day off and we tiled the master bath floor.

Photos