I still consider us in the transition stage of RV living; a full year of all the seasons truly needs to pass before I feel comfortable saying, "We've made it!" Not because I don't believe we will--I most certainly do--but because pride cometh before the fall, and bearing that in mind, my humble side would like to give it a full year. After all, there's still the floods of spring, the heat of the summer, and the majority of fall to behold in our perky RV. There's birthdays and holidays and anniversaries (and grandbabies) and family gatherings all to be celebrated. Yes, I think a solid year is a good measure.
In this past month we've both had our share of sickness, so we know how that will go. Something about living in closer quarters makes you more aware of those you live with. I think this is a good thing. You can't afford to be selfish, if you want your relationship to continue to grow and flourish. Todd is better at this than I am. This is a personal growth opportunity for me!
The breakdown of chores is a little different. I'm just now getting the hang of the washer/dryer process, so I've been the one handling the laundry. There are a lot more outdoor-related chores with the RV; flushing grey & black water tanks, changing out propane tanks, keeping water lines warm & running, etc. I need to know how to do them (just in case), but Todd takes care of these things on a regular basis. So I feel compelled to keep up with the interior housekeeping. Granted, it's not as large a space, so it's not as time-consuming a task, but scrubbing a toilet is still scrubbing a toilet, and it's not my favorite thing! But it's really important that it gets done at least twice a week, because it doesn't flush like a normal commode, so the bowl doesn't get rinsed as well after each flush. Ugh. Stop me now, please!
So, while I'm confident in the outcome, I am not going to say yet that we've conquered RV living. But we are making great strides.
In another train of thought, last night I e-mailed my monthly contribution to our family's Round Robin. My dad's paternal grandmother had quite a few children. As they grew up, she kept up with them (and so kept them up-to-date with each other) by sending out a newsy-chatty letter to the oldest, who read her letter, added one of his own, and sent it to the next sibling, and so on, until all of the children had received their mom's letter, added one of their own, and the youngest sent it back to mom. Great-grandma Fowler would read the letters of all her children, replace her original letter with a new one, and start the cycle again.
Through the years, as she and her children passed away, their children and grandchildren have continued the tradition. Through the middle of last year, the Round Robin continued to be a postal wonder, sharing family news from coast-to-coast. Two of the original Fowler children were still contributing, as well! My Great Uncle Bill and my Great Uncle Frank (the baby of the Fowler's and lovingly referred to as "Grand"). Unfortunately, Great Uncle Bill, who always typed his contribution, got stuck. His typewriter broke, and he was not able/willing to carry on. And the Round Robin was grounded with him.
Luckily, enough of us still wanted to continue this awesome tradition, so Grand proposed that we do it by e-mail instead of regular mail. Each participant would send out a newsy/chatty e-mail each month, on the date of their birth (so, for example, I send out my blurb on the 10th of every month). If you were overwhelmed with life and couldn't send something, it didn't matter, because it didn't hold up everyone else down the line, and you could just jump back in when you could. And if you were a couple of days late, that was no big deal either. It was about keeping in touch with family.
The wonderful benefit about opening it up to e-mail was that lots more family members contribute these days! It's been awesome to get to know family that I had that I didn't realise I had. What's even more awesome is to learn of the great faith in Jesus that some of these family members have! That has been *so* exciting to me! It's a really cool tradition that my Fowler family has carried on through five generations, and I wanted to share it!
On a last, light note, the shop cat has really been good for entertainment value. She eats weird things. She's mostly a carb-eating cat. She likes cheetos, bugles, and chex mix. But she also likes things you'd never associate with a cat -- like organic, roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Only she doesn't lap it up like a saucer of milk . . . she dips her paw in and licks it off her paw! She must have repeated this forty or fifty times before she realized she'd cleaned the bowl!
Tomato soup. Go figure!
:)
