I really needed that to boost my confidence. Last night I was so worried about driving and parking the camper that I started to think it'd be easier for me to just stay in Georgia forever. Seriously.
I even had a dream about fiery car crashes. It was awful. This morning I woke up and procrastinated. I didn't get the kids ready and I didn't get dressed. I had all but decided not to ever bring the camper home when my phone rang. It was Jason. And he talked some sense into me just as he always does.
I headed to pick up the camper, first stopping at the post office. It should have been a quick errand but nothing is ever fast or easy for us. Instead it took me ten minutes to unload the kids and ten minutes to load them back into the van. It took me all of 60 seconds to ship the package. Go figure.After that errand we arrived to pick up the camper and I tried every stall tactic I could before finally accepting the keys and hooking up the hitch equipment. And then I sat behind the wheel in my van for a few more minutes as I anxiously anticipated navigating through the narrow side street and out onto the congested road. Then I took a deep breath and just did it.
I'm proud to say that no pedestrians, animals, or mailboxes were harmed on my trek back home. And I did practice turning and backing up in an empty school parking lot near my house. I quickly became confident that I was doing great and headed home to attempt the driveway parking feat.
This is our new home for the next two months. (Or more?)We have a quaint little table and seating for the kids to eat meals. There's a big bed that pops out of the front of the camper that probably won't be used until Jason comes home because it's hard to pop in and out by myself.
There's a fab pull-out couch where I'll collapse every night.
We have a little kitchen with an oven, stove, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, and sink. It's cozy and I'm sure it will start to feel crowded once we're all inside but for now the kids are thrilled. Let's just hope the novelty doesn't wear off before we get to Washington.
The kids are excited to sleep in bunk beds but I haven't yet figured out how to attach a railing to the sides. I am 100% positive that Matthew will fall out if there's no railing. I know from experience. I'm thinking I might be able to use a toddler bed rail so I'm going to have to try it.When we got home our sweet neighbors came over to see the camper. They're elderly and the husband is always coming over to loan me tools and the wide spoils the kids with candy and treats. They are my kids' honorary grandparents. Today their brother-in-law was there and he's a veteran and an avid RVer. He commended me on my parking skills and talked me through leveling the camper. He even brought me some leveling blocks and chatted about camp grounds and camping clubs and the whole RV culture that I know nothing about.
This is going to be quite an adventure.
This is our bathroom that we'll share for the coming weeks... Somebody please smack some sense into me. I'm going to let my kids (with all of their assorted poop issues) share this coat closet-sized bathroom? And then I'm going to dump their waste at a dumping station? I have to carry my own sewer hose (aka poop chute) and clean our holding tank? Is it just me or is this sounding less and less fun?
But I guess this is it...I'm really doing it.
In just about 3 weeks I will load up my crew of six and head west. With our camper. And our dog. And our cat. And our guinea pig.
And most likely without my sanity. I'll be leaving that behind in Georgia.
