Why we took the Leap to travel fulltime
An idea was born when I realized we would soon become empty nesters. The phrase “Empty Nest Syndrome” sent me into a doom loop. For the past 21 + years, I was mainly a stay-at-home mother. Other than my part-time career as a family portrait photographer (specializing in babies and children) and my current job as a Travel Advisor, I had been laser focused on my two daughters. (Incidentally, before I had children of my own, I was an elementary school teacher.) So, by and large, rearing children has in many ways been what I have done for the bulk of my adult life. As much as I would have loved continuing to manage my adult kids lives, they wanted and deserved independence. Moreover, they were capable and competent. To manage how I would cope with these changes, we (…well ok, mainly I) had the urge to redesign our lives as bit. It’s been said that ideas are born out of necessity, but my proposals usually start brewing from a deep place of anxiety. (True story.) Either way, I had come up with an idea that I felt was necessary. So, I guess that theory is still valid.
What was I going to do during this “kid-free” phase of life? How would I fill the void of motherhood while my adult children design their own lives? Where did we want to live? What did we want to do for fun? Who did we want to spend time with besides our children and each other? I had some answers swirling around in my head, but there were still many unknowns. One thing I knew for sure was, I didn’t want to stay put.
I remember exactly when I came up with this full-time travel scheme. We were enroute to Utah for a weekend trip, and were discussing if and where we should buy our next house. We went back and forth a bit before I said, why don’t we just take some time and travel in our RV fulltime to figure it out? Matt, an outdoorsy type of guy, seemed to like this idea. But, it took some time to convince him that I was serious and would be happy living in our 5th wheel. But, since living fulltime in our RV was a choice (NOT a necessity), I knew I was ready to embark on this venture.
Luckily, my husband had already been working remotely, and during our short (and longer) trips in the RV, he also figured out how to work from the camper. We also had 4 years of RV camping trips under our belt. Matt had already learned a lot about the RV life logistics. Most importantly, he was also very handy. The groundwork was already there. But, could we put it into effect? Did we have the bravery to leave the traditional household behind?
I knew if I stayed put in Colorado, I would probably pine away for the return of my girls (When is their next break? Should I plan a family trip?); Make excuses to visit them (Who wants a free lunch? Laundry service anyone? When is parents weekend?); Or just scour the online stores in search of gifts to send them (because who doesn’t need a care package from time to time?). No holiday was too small not to celebrate with a gift delivered from me, and sometimes I would include their friends on these gifts. (I would think to myself…Oh, you know what they could use…a pair of shamrock sunglasses & matching green crop tops for their college St. Patrick’s Day parties. Add to cart, click and send!) I already had one out of the nest, and that is largely how I coped with her absence during the past 2 years. The cycle had to end. I was due for a change. And so was our bank account.
I needed something for myself-a new purpose. And a little excitement. This new adventure would allow us to see the United States, visit new towns and cities, return to some beloved stomping grounds, reunite with friends and family, meet new people, and have some new experiences as well. I wanted to visit the beautiful seascapes, deserts and mountain towns that covered our country. I also hoped to also photograph some quirky and unexpected roadside attractions and learn why they existed. I was hopeful that this experience would reignite my creative side that had fallen dormant after I retired my portrait business. I had always planned to document and share our experiences with friends and family. But, then I thought, why not share our knowledge and experiences to a broader audience. And that’s how the birth this blog, Postcards from the Road came to life.
Beth Melberg