The Conversation That Started it All

by Tamera Anastasi

Me: “How crazy is the idea of selling the house, getting a toy hauler and traveling the US next year?”

Cory: “That would be crazy. I’m not against it. If that’s what you want to do, we can make a plan and timeline that is practical.”

Me: “Let’s chat about it. I’m ready to plan something!”

Yep, that was it. Short, random, and decisive. Crazy? No doubt, but that night after Cory got off work, we started researching life on the road and getting excited about finding a fifth wheel toy hauler that would fit our family’s needs. Of course, as simple as it was to agree on this HUGE lifestyle change, we had actually toyed and joked around with the idea for years. It wasn’t until that moment, with a strange sense of confidence and peace, did it all make sense to just do it. Honestly, I think it was God shaking me saying “would y’all just listen to me and get on with it?”

This text was sent sometime last August 2019 after I dropped the kiddos off at school. As I was driving home, I couldn’t help but think of what my son had just told me before getting out of the car. I asked him if he was glad to be back ‘home’ in Lafayette after spending the summer back in Texas at the family ranch. He immediately said “No!” with tears in his eyes and then said that he wanted to go back to our ‘REAL” home in Texas. Just a quick background, we move a lot for Cory’s job, and have lived in numerous cities in Texas, as well as a couple stints overseas. This is our normal but every chance, holiday or break we would get, we always headed back to see family and feel at-home on the ranch.

The word REAL caught my attention. He was right! Our REAL home will always be Texas, so what are we doing moving from house to house when we could take our show on the road, be more flexible, have more adventures, spend more time with family, roadschool, meet new friends along the way, attend as many Spartan Races as we can, AND go home when we want? The decision was easy at that point and we haven’t looked back! Strangely enough, I can confidently say that I haven’t had any regrets or thoughts of “what they heck was I thinking?’ Cory may have a different response to this. Ha!

Has RV life been perfect or going ‘as planned’? Aboslutely not, things break and surprises pop up but hey, that’s life. Is there a big learning curve with living the nomad lifestyle? Yes, like the importance of making sure the black and gray gate valves are CLOSED before hooking up. If not, you just may have a crappy start to your day. A little RV potty humor for ya! Have my cleaning standards had to change? Ugh, still working on this one. I have had to get used to a lot more dust and dirt…everywhere. It’s a slow process but I am getting there. My biggest savior and a must is wearing my indoor slippers. I CANNOT handle feeling the dirt under my feet! Has it been worth it? 100%, hands down, YES! There will always be challenges in every situation. We just choose to roll with it and learn along the way. There isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t thankful for this life. We are extremely happy with our decision and only wish we had done it years ago.

Bring on the RV life adventures….and most certainly some entertaining misadventures! Please join us along the way via Intagram, Facebook, the website or on the road. If you see us on the move, give us a shout!

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