Road Tripping

October 16, 2018Just like most things in life, we all have our own unique relationship with money and how we spend or save it. I like the metaphor of money as energy. It fluctuates, coming in and going out, an exchange in constant motion monitored by the Universal Bank and Trust of the Cosmos.  Jim is a saver and I think he would agree with my 37 year observation that he weighs and measures – in depth – the pros and cons of almost every purchase.  Our motivations complement each other but I have been known to be a bit more, shall we say – spontaneous.  Let’s take the RV we just drove back to Colorado from California.  He’s been researching the best (and affordable) makes and models for a solid year. He’s read blogs, looked at hundreds of pictures, made phone calls, went on test drives and we even drove to Nebraska one Saturday to check a couple out.  Same make and model, same owner even, just not quite right….and so we waited.  Why an RV? Because we want to see and experience this country from a tiny-house-on-wheels perspective and we want to be able to take Tess the wonder dog with us.  It is currently unknown if ‘wonder dog’ will remain ‘wonderFUL dog’ when it comes to this type of travel.  After everything she’s been through, we know she has the ability to adapt but we also know she has a propensity for motion sickness which will add a certain degree of watchfulness and a supply of Dramamine.

We missed out on a few RV’s we were interested in because it seems the entire US currently wants their own tiny-house-on-wheels.  Living off the grid, back roading, mountain biking and escapism is on the rise and these RV jewels are hard to come by,  you have to react fast which is where I come in.  A few weeks ago, I went to San Diego with Georgia, Jim’s cousin, for some ocean therapy.

Jim: “Can you shoot up to Sun City and take a look at this RV that just went up for sale? It’s the make and model we are looking for and it only has 44,000 miles on it.”  He’s already done his research and weighed the pros and cons.

“Why not!” we say.

Me: “I’m going to buy it if we like it. We might even drive it back!”

“Call me…….” he said, cringing.

It was perfect. Literally, it looked practically new and Bill the seller, treated us to the most in-depth showing to date.  He’s a car guy cut from the same cloth as Jim so it was a bit freaky, yet familiar and comforting.  Test drive and one more phone call to the master negotiator at home to hone my negotiating skills and Bill accepted our offer.  I didn’t have to do much, Bill is a pretty cool dude.

Why make this kind of investment when everything in our lives seems to be up in the air?  We have been living in 3-4 month increments relying on scans to tell us what our immediate future will look like.  Will we be able to enjoy our new tiny-house-on-wheels? YES.  Our intention is to enjoy this experience to the max.  We’ve agreed that it doesn’t matter whether we take three day trips or three week trips.  For the time being, I still have treatment every three weeks plus Jim has responsibilities that keep us fed, with a roof over our heads and medical insurance.

It has not escaped me that some with a cancer diagnosis don’t have the means to escape in an RV. But, I’ve had a revelation: I can’t save the world but I can determine to save myself, which in turn might have an effect on the world.  Quantum physics easily understood by reading, Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo.  Spending this time with Jim and Tess brings me joy, and love and joy are the breeding grounds for healing so I’ll take all I can get.

And now we have Bill! He’s our new BFF and a fellow cancer survivor.  We texted pictures and updates on our way back to Colorado and Bill sent us our first Christmas present of the year – a lock for one of the doors that he ordered and didn’t get the chance to install.

Jim smiled and nodded….like I said, cut from the same cloth.