Choices, Choices
Every day brings us choices starting with wake up or hit the snooze button. We start making choices the moment we are conscious and don’t stop making choices until we are wrapped in blissful sleep. Most choices are so small we hardly notice that we are making them all day long at all: what to eat, what to wear, what to watch on tv, stairs or elevator. Some choices are so overwhelming we suffer greatly over them: should I leave my job, move, risk something I value for (fill in the blank). Some choices bring heart ache: for my own good should I let go of this…relationship, goal, dream, (fill in the blank). Some choices are so powerful they change you from the inside out: I choose to be happy, I choose to find God, meaning, hope, (fill in the blank). Then there are days when you are given choices that are just plain FUN. Yesterday was fun choice day for us!
We didn’t get to fun choice day by accident, it’s been in the works for a LONG time. Loads of other choices had to be made first starting with what will the next phase of our lives be. After the kid raising, the working life, the household maintenance, the financial pressures, the angst of a million choices that propelled us through daily life, we are nearing the play phase, retirement. Suddenly a whole new world of choices appears, and the choices suddenly become fun, exciting, new, (fill in the blank).
Obviously, because you are reading this, we have made the van life choice. This, not being a traditional choice, is mainly for the flexibility is offers us for achieving the two priorities we have chosen for our next life phase: 1) stay close to our family 2) travel. What better way to do both than to just take your home with you wherever you want to be? Visit the kids? Ok, let’s go. Have a great time visiting, then go to bed in our own little house. Drive to the Artic Ocean? Ok, let’s go. No campsites way up there? No problem, find a spot to park and go to bed in our own little house.
Why a van, not another type of mobile home? Flexibility. We have camped in tents & travel trailers and have enjoyed both, but a van combines the best of both worlds for us, the ability to boondock off the beaten path and still have an indoor toilet all in one tidy little vehicle that can be parked anywhere there is a spot. No setting up a tent and unpacking 400 pounds worth of gear, no backing in the trailer and being limited to certain sized campsites or figuring out how to get in and out of a gas station. For us, the appeal of van life outweighs the downside, which is the two of us, not particularly small people, living in a very tiny space. We have chosen to take this concern as a challenge. We are excited about learning a new way of living. We choose to be happy about co-existing in a miniature setting. We have heard, from more than one person, that they have doubts about our choice. We choose to acknowledge their feelings as valid, but we choose to plow forward because between each other, we know we are up to the challenge.
So, we come to the day of fun choices. Yesterday we got to pick out our inside finishes for our upcoming van build. Yes, it was fun! We went with a grey, white, black and pale green color theme. We can’t wait to see how it all turns out and share pictures of the final product with you.
As I mentioned before, our builder is ActiVan Conversions, if you would like to see their work, check them out at: ActiVan Conversions
One more thing, there is a free online Van Life Summit coming up in February if you are interested in learning more about van life from folks who are really making this lifestyle work for themselves. Check it out at: Van Life Summit
Thanks for reading! Choose to have a great day!