Just go. This is what I kept telling myself as I wanted to pull the covers over my head and stay in safety, or at least in what I already knew. I kinda felt like Ma Ingalls when Charles told her they would leave their home in Wisconsin to head West in the middle of winter to the unknown. OK, its no comparison in reality, the danger was very real for the Ingalls, freezing cold temperatures, no shelter, enemies who may want to kill you, wild beasts who may want to eat you, and children who depend on you. For me, the danger was mostly lingering in my heart, in the fear of the unknown.

My husband and I had decided to sell our lovely home, ahem. my dream home, and leave friends that were like family, a supportive schooling community, and a church we had poured our hearts into. This idea had planted itself in our minds that we would give/sell most of our stuff, and leave all that was comfortable for a life of adventure with our four kids touring the country in an RV.

First of all, I was pretty sure this wasn’t even going to work. I mean, there are six of us, and we were used to a lot of room in our house and yard. How was I going to cook for a family of 6 without a stove and only a 6 cu. ft. refrigerator? How was I to bring my library of books that I depend on for school? And sleeping, we were used to our King bed which we were trading in for a “short Queen,” while the kids were sleeping on 2” foam pieces. Oh, and then there’s the day I laughed out loud watching my husband step into the shower at the RV dealership and try to bend down, impossible, better tie the soap around your neck!

So why go on this adventure? My favorite definition of adventure is from the urban dictionary:

Adventure: something that is most likely a very, very bad idea, but sounds like it would be exciting, so you try it anyway.

Yep, this is how we roll. It just seems like a better alternative than the opposite:

Certainty: Theoretical condition in which decision making is without risk, because the decision maker has all the information about the exact outcome of the decision, before he or she makes the decision.

Somewhere along the way, we figured out that “certainty” was just an illusion that we were operating under. Its just not true. So, we decided to go with “adventure.” Exciting always beats out boring.

Once we pushed back the fear, and became OK with the uncertainty, of not having trite answers to the many questions lingering like,
“What if my kids get behind (whatever that means)?” “What if I get mad at my husband and have nowhere to escape?” “What if all of my friends forget about me and find new ones (they did make new ones, but didn’t forget about me.:)” “What if we can’t figure out how to get past hot dogs and sausage for a year?” And, “what if I spontaneously combust because I want all my ‘stuff’ back?”

In all of these scenarios, I realized, ultimately, that it will be OK. And in that, I found freedom in the adventure. It is what we were meant for.