Friday, July 13, 2012

Reality is setting in ...

I guess it's getting real now.  Not the full-time part, but the "we live in a motorhome" part.  Not in a bad way.  Just in a more real way.  I haven't had as much time to think, let alone write down my thoughts!

We have a lot of things yet to work through living in our new motorhome.  First, let me tell you that the huge amounts of storage aren't really that much, as it turns out.  It's all relative.  From my perspective, Steve keeps bringing in more bins of stuff that I don't have a place for.  That means clutter, not being able to find things, and frustration.  It's not his fault - he's just doing what he's supposed to do!  But many things get frustrating quick when you haven't had much sleep and are in a whole new set of circumstances with every move you make.

Our first morning, I tried to think of something a little special to make for breakfast for us.  I had eggs, I had a little ham to use up.  Ah!  Minced ham and scrambled eggs!  No bread.  How about baking a few biscuits in my new convection oven?  Sounds fun!  I get out the eggs and ham.  I find my cutting board, my non-stick fry pan.  I'm in business.  Wait.  I have no spatula.  All I have are stainless steel tableware.  I'm not going to ruin my pan.  And the biscuits?  I can't find baking powder.  Never mind.  I'm thankful we have cereal and milk.  We eat it gratefully.

Our first day didn't exactly live up to my dreams, but still I feel happy we've made this decision.  I spent a good part of the day trying to figure out where things were, and moving them to where it seemed they might belong.  Also, since we were expecting company later in the day, I wanted to try to de-clutter a bit.  We at least got the bins out of the main walk-thru.

At one point that day, Steve went outside to check in the large storage slide out to see if he could find any of the missing items I was longing for (and whining about).  He came back in and in an exasperated way told me he was so stupid.  He said all the bins they'd loaded from my parents garage were nothing more than "c--p"!  I had to laugh, and eventually he joined me. His statement was kind of true, but it was simply caused by the way that first moving day had been.  We honestly thought it was all going to fit!  We'd given away or sold all our furniture!  At least half our wardrobes had gone away.  We were brutal about it.  However, there were some items we kept just in case we decided they were worthy of storage.

Once we'd transferred what had been in the 5th wheel trailer to the motorhome at Camping World, Steve and Jim had started loading the items we'd stored for a week in my parents' garage.  When they began to load, whatever was closest went into the storage areas of the motorhome first.  When it became apparent that it wasn't going to fit, they had to quit.  What Steve had found in our storage bins this first morning were Christmas decorations, Winter clothing, photo albums needing to be scanned into the computer, picture frames we don't have anywhere to hang, etc.  Poor guy.  It really is pretty funny!  We couldn't find our underwear, but at least we could decorate for Christmas next December!

Steven Swenwold and his wife, Staci, came to visit us the evening of our first full day.  They brought us a lovely deli spread with meats/cheese and great crackers.  Also, Staci had made a beautiful, and delicious, fruit salad.  We shared the sparkling apple cider Steven had put in our refrigerator the day of the move, in the accompanying little plastic wine glasses.  We toasted to God and his goodness.

We were so happy that they'd offered to come down and visit, even though we were up to our ears in clutter and overwhelmed.  Steve was the one person who was truly knowledgeable about our new purchase!  We were so happy they were coming that first day!

While they were here, Steven wanted to help out as he could.  He took a look under the bed to find out why we had wet carpet on the side of the bed, behind the shower wall.  We'd taken late night showers at the end of moving day.  Hope that wasn't what leaked!  The panel behind the shower was dry.  So they looked under the bed.  Water!  Seems a connection from the master bathroom isn't holding.  A portion of the shower water, sink water and washing machine water may have ended up in our bedroom.  Though water inside an RV is never good, we were relieved and thankful that we are parked directly across the road from the laundry and shower facilities here at the park.  It could be worse.

Also, one of the three air conditioners appeared to be drawing way too much power, yet no longer starting.  No problem - just shut it down.  It's not that hot during the day.  We have two a.c. units left!  Most the rest of the list are little things - hardly worth bringing up.  But now we know we will have to take "Moby Homa" back in for service soon.  The idea that we could be ready to drive again anytime soon seems doubtful to me however.  I'd have to have everything put away!  I also feel like I need to have some rest before I'd be ready for that day.  We still are very short on sleep.

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Day 2 went a little better.  I slept a little more.  Not a lot, but a little more.  Time to consider breakfast.  Still no spatula or non metal utensils.  We decided we were especially thankful for our company the night before.  We had leftovers!  Meat, cheese & fruit salad is perfect for breakfast. 

There was just so much piled all around me inside the motor home!  I'm one of those people that can take clutter for a few days, if it's for a reason.  At some point, however, I can't take it.  It happened every time we'd go out in the 5th wheel.  After perhaps 3 days I'd have to just stop and put everything away and clear off the floor and counters (few that they were).  Well, I haven't changed.  It's no wonder I've always hated moving!  Clutter is a reality, and it doesn't go away in 3 days.

Here in the motorhome we have an extra problem:  There's no place to put the clutter except inside the motorhome!  If the basement and all the indoor storage are full, we have no garage to put the rest into.  We have the back end of our Buick Rendezvous, but that's it.

On Day 3, Wednesday, Steve thought he'd leave me back with Parsley, the cat, while he ran into Hillsboro to deal with some equipment issues at Camping World and Dish Network...technical stuff.  After that he'd go to my parents and sort through the garage and tell me what he saw.  I could tell him what I needed over the phone and what should just stay there for the time being.  Not only was I grateful that Steve would be taking care of all those details, but I was also grateful to have the chance to be quiet and think as I tried to re-sort and store things away in the motorhome.  I can't believe how fast that time went, even though the errands had taken Steve longer than he expected.  By the time he returned, the place looked worse than ever, but there were perhaps 4 overhead storage areas that were now neat and tidy!  Hope springs eternal.



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