Sometimes something small happens that becomes a catalyst for great change.
In our early twenties, only a year or two after completing five years of Uni each, my husband and I left our jobs, packed up our worldly belongings and headed overseas with just our backpacks in search of new life experiences. We travelled parts of Europe and Asia and had an amazing time.
We dreamed that one day, when our kids were 'not too old and not too young' we would travel around Australia with them - giving them a similar experience of life exploring new places, being free to choose your own adventure. In 2012 we were starting to think about when might be a good time to travel, when we found out we were pregnant with our fourth child.... surprise!! He had definitely not been part of our life-plan, but we are so completely happy to have him in our life. With his arrival we put thoughts of travel out of our minds until about 6months ago when my husband was trying to convince me that he 'needed' to spend (lots of) money on an electric skateboard. His argument went something like....
"Well, if we are just living in the city working Monday-Friday then you need to spend money on stuff that makes life interesting! And.., well,.... what ever happened to us travelling around Australia??!"
..... and in the craziness of raising four kids, being President of the school P&C, and leading a community choir, I had totally forgotten about our plan to travel. But his reminder immediately sparked my excitement for the change, the adventure.
Yes! Sam would be in Year 6 next year - last year of primary school. I had been planning to re-enter the workforce, probably supply teaching. I was unsure how I was going to juggle more paid work with my P&C commitments. Andrew had been at his job for the past six years and was happy- but six years doing the same thing.... We started to think about it more. It seemed like 2016 would be a great time to go. But could we do it? How would we do it?
Then it happened. The catalyst.
On the 17th of November 2015 we received a letter from our real estate agency. It contained a Notice to Vacate! That was it. The extra motivator we needed, the deal changer (no house to live in!), the sign from the universe.
And then the decision was made. It was time to go. It felt right. It didn't matter if Andrew couldn't get leave from work. It didn't matter how we would afford it. We were doing it!
Step 1 - We bought a camper trailer. A 2004 Cub Spacematic hard-floor camper trailer. It should be easy enough to set-up and pack-down without too much hassle, and it gives us 20ft of floor space which we are happy with for the size of our family.
And then it felt real!
Step 2 - Tell everybody! The range of reactions was interesting. Some people think we are crazy, some people are jealous, people were sad and didn't want us to go, people were excited for us. I think what makes me a little sad is the large number of people who have said things like "Oh, we've always wanted to do that but..." (there were lots of different buts), or "Wow, you're living my dream".
Step 3 - Spending lots of money to get set up to live on the road. It is quite different to the basic tent set-up that we used for our long weekend camping trips! Porta-potti & shower, Solar and battery power, water tanks, kitchen needs etc.
It is all coming together now. We are walking toward the cliff and are nearly ready to jump off. Jumping off the cliff of financial security. Jumping into freedom from the routines of work and the school system. Jumping into life that is centered on the needs and wants of our family. Jumping into a different way of life, and are In It Together!
