It is going on 5 years now that I have yearned to live a more nomadic life. It's in my roots from my own parents who took me at 6 weeks old to Africa. Jimmy has lived here in South Florida nearly his entire lifetime so he could not even entertain the idea and said, "No way!" My prayer was that God change either my yearning to go or his heart to stay. One year ago he came home and said, "I think I would like to do go ahead with your plans!" Music to my ears.....I began packing the next day!
My favorite part of any trip is the planning which feeds the yearning inside of me to travel. The past year has been all about preparing for travel full time and eliminating much of our life before. Paperwork, stuff, etc. has to all be eliminated when there is no home to store it away. Relinquishing everything was much more liberating than I had imagined. I have enjoyed life with less and have more time to work on the things I choose instead of things I need to do. I really wasn't expecting this new form of freedom which was an unexpected surprise. Somehow the grief of letting it go fooled me into believing that my grief and regret would be overwhelming. It wasn't the case at all but instead it seemed to release me of my normal anxiety and stress.
Anxiety has always been an issue for me since I was a teenager. Medication has too many side affects that eliminate my being able to use them. When I had kids my way of dealing with the anxiety and stress of motherhood was to go camping with my mom and friends from Europe. It would always work in calming me down and just what I needed to help me cope and start again fresh. That is my biggest reason for wanting to do this because I know it works for me. My husband noticed that my anxiety and stress went away as soon as we moved from our home of 30 years and started this quest. I have to agree!
We have a table I was painting just before my husbands heart change that says, "Prayer changes everything!" My yearning calmed down when we moved here on the beach because it has been like a vacation for us. My husband now yearns for more travel just from living here so we find ourselves exploring the area to find new things to see and do. We are both thankful for answered prayer!
My favorite part of any trip is the planning which feeds the yearning inside of me to travel. The past year has been all about preparing for travel full time and eliminating much of our life before. Paperwork, stuff, etc. has to all be eliminated when there is no home to store it away. Relinquishing everything was much more liberating than I had imagined. I have enjoyed life with less and have more time to work on the things I choose instead of things I need to do. I really wasn't expecting this new form of freedom which was an unexpected surprise. Somehow the grief of letting it go fooled me into believing that my grief and regret would be overwhelming. It wasn't the case at all but instead it seemed to release me of my normal anxiety and stress.
Anxiety has always been an issue for me since I was a teenager. Medication has too many side affects that eliminate my being able to use them. When I had kids my way of dealing with the anxiety and stress of motherhood was to go camping with my mom and friends from Europe. It would always work in calming me down and just what I needed to help me cope and start again fresh. That is my biggest reason for wanting to do this because I know it works for me. My husband noticed that my anxiety and stress went away as soon as we moved from our home of 30 years and started this quest. I have to agree!
We have a table I was painting just before my husbands heart change that says, "Prayer changes everything!" My yearning calmed down when we moved here on the beach because it has been like a vacation for us. My husband now yearns for more travel just from living here so we find ourselves exploring the area to find new things to see and do. We are both thankful for answered prayer!
Exploring Lake Okeechobee!
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