Challenges of close confines

One of the interesting things about this lifestyle is the closeness.  It's not only the physical space, but the mental "space" as well.  And I think having a child with ADD has greatly magnified that effect.  It's hard to write about ADD without sounding like a bad parent or feeling guilty.  The side effects in my son's case are extreme negativity (about any suggested activity), a reactive contrary response to any question posed and downright harassment if there's something he wants.  The medications help, but we have tried to wean him off of those to disastrous effect.  He tests our patience, and I see this improving only as he matures.  Meanwhile, we do the best we can to manage his symptoms. I think many people assume that retirement and the life we're living now is just bliss.  It's just not so. It is always, always about balance. There will be good days and bad.  No matter where you travel, you take yourself with you.  I knew this going in to this adventure and it remains true.

There are enough positives to outweigh the negatives, of course.  This was true in our suburban life and it's true now.  We are in Utah and have made some big decisions. We are so happy doing this that we feel we can do it indefinitely.  We are also acutely aware that we are missing attractions along the way.  Because we still have obligations and timelines that need to be met, we are not fully exploring the areas we've visited.  So, we have decided to put our sailboat on hold, maybe for several years.  I don't doubt that we'll still charter when we can.  But there's a lot to be said for the RV life, and we need more time.  We will not even make it to the East Coast this year.  And next year is already largely spoken for.  We'll be retracing some of the route we took in 2016 and spending more time in each spot.  Additionally, we'll be heading farther north.  We missed out on Banff this year because of repairs to our RV.  So next year, we head to Canada for at least part of the summer.

All of this leads me to the other crazy decision we made this week. We have decided to upgrade our current living situation. We are trading in the old girl for a new trailer.  This means we will have a truck to drive around.  No more insane mountain roads with a 33 foot RV!  More on this later, but we pick up the new trailer in 10 days.  I'll document that experience when it happens.

I leave this entry with the stunning beauty that is Zion National Park.  Of course, the pictures can not do it justice.  We'll be seeing more of Utah over the next month, and I suspect I'll fall even more deeply in love.  It's pretty easy to do: