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Today is a slow news day. Honestly, I have been a bit lazy. I walked around the park awhile this morning. When ever someone asked how I was doing, I smiled and said, “Happy to be here!”. And I am. I parked myself on the camp store’s wide porch with my coffee to watch the comings and goings and soon I was surrounded by campers and staff. It was nice to have a grown up conversation about nothing. Funny thing is, for the first six weeks we were here, I kept to myself. I have never been a people person. Six years ago I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and as it progressed I found I had less and less energy to waste on casual relationships. I became more and more a recluse. There were long stretches when I didn’t see anyone outside of my own family. If I didn’t have to show up at the kids school once and a while, no one would have know I was alive. After a month and a half living in this RV park, I have learned to be around people more. And now that I carry this monster inside me, I have actually found myself seeking out the company of others. I try to stay friendly and positive. I don’t dwell on the cancer, talking about it only if it comes up. I always try to pepper it with jokes to put people at ease. And to keep myself at ease as well.

It’s Saturday and the camp is pretty full. Living full time in an RV park has its perks. It’s like living in the middle of a constantly changing party - one that you don’t have to prepare for. You sit back and watch as the park staff cleans the grounds, mows the lawns, and sets out the guest-paper-towels in the bath house. As the guests arrive, the office tells them all where to sleep and sets the rules that will all get broken. You watch them come with a smile on your face. You see, the guests come with their own sheets and towels, their own food and the pots to cook it in. They bring their own beds and toys, set their own fires, and make their own S’Mores. You welcome them all with the secret thanksgiving thoughts of them leaving again at the end of their visit with all their dirty sheets and towels, grimy smelly clothes, and their greasy pots and pans. In this way, you can enjoy them tremendously. You are not responsible for their fun nor their mischievous children. You don’t have to give them a tour or make reservations for their sight seeing cruise. You don’t have to apologize if there isn’t enough eggs for every one. It’s wonderful.

My part here is to keep my 15′ by 40′ parcel decluttered, my 33′ home tidy, and to keep my three little ones from doing anything worse than any other kids. I came up with the idea (yes, it was my idea) of selling off everything (well almost everything. Dan reminds me that we still have a full storage unit… Blah blah) and moving from our rented 3400sq ft house into a motorhome. Little did I know then that it was part of a bigger plan. Thanks to that move, we have the smallest overhead to pay for and the smallest house to care for. This will be a blessing in the months to come. One, I don’t have to keep a big house clean. And two, we have to pay for my treatment somehow out of pocket. Dan will have to miss days of work to take me to my appointments at a time when my medical bills will be astronomical.

Monthly lot rent in this park is $530 (in-season rates for full hookups in middle level spots). That includes rent, water, sewer, electric, cable, internet, garbage, and lawn care. The house we moved out of cost us over $2000 for the same services each month. The difference will come in handy.

Still, I have to convince our family that living in this RV is a good thing right now. We did this by choice and we are comfortable with our decision. We each have our own beds. Dan and I opted for twins instead of one full size. We had a king before. We would never be comfortable in a smaller bed. For the girls, we converted the hall closets into two bunks. For Robbie, we built a bunk over the front driver and passenger seats. This way each has their own space and we don’t have to open out the couch bed or make up the bed-in-the-table anymore. The kids call their bunks their “rooms”. We may have the world’s only four bedroom motor home! The office/PC is set in the front passenger seat area while we are parked. It all works remarkably well. It would work better in a bigger, newer motorhome, but it works for us just fine as is. It’s home.

And “home” moves if we need to be somewhere else for a while. That may come in handy soon too.

Tomorrow the kids and I are taking dad to the laundro-mat to teach him how to do five people’s laundry as quick and cheap as possible. He claims he knows how to do laundry, but the girls and I are just not sure. . .