After the two-and-a-half months of grueling effort that it took for us to pack up our lives and prepare for this journey, we thought that when we finally pulled out of town there would be a big “WHEEE!!!!” accompanied by an incredible sense of freedom.
Instead, there has been the reality of dealing with the detritus that has tagged along. Here’s an example: Our insurance company is requiring that we submit a list of all of our belongings in storage, along with proof of purchase for each item and photos. Seriously??? Is there anyone who keeps those kinds of records? In addition, I’m continuing to do about 10 hours a week of freelance editing work, and now that we’re camp hosting, we each have an additional 14 hours a week of responsibilities.
Living With The Cat
Meanwhile, we’re trying to figure out how to live comfortably in our 21’ trailer with the cat, who for some unknown reason thinks she has to poop in the middle of the night, which is just plain rude. This means getting up at 2 a.m. to scoop the litter box. Every night.
Spot takes up far more space than one would imagine for a 10-pound cat. She hogs half of the dinette seat, a big chunk of the floor space for her water and food bowls, and the shower for her litter box. She has also taken over the ledge in the dining area for a window seat.
We never planned to travel with the cat. Frankly, we thought that by the time we embarked on full-time travel she would have gone to her reward (as my mother would say). But Spotty is now a healthy 18 and has no apparent plans of departing this existence anytime soon. Although we would prefer to not travel with her (and we feel pretty certain she would rather be at home on the sofa), we love our kitty and wouldn’t leave her behind.
Adjusting To A Life Of Full-Time Travel
There’s been some jostling of elbows as we’ve all tried to stake out our individual territory in 150 square feet of space. Nerves have been a bit frayed and no one’s behavior has merited a gold star. We have definitely had many wonderful experiences during the past five weeks, but we’ve also been acutely aware of how different this feels from our usual travels.
We don’t have a home to go home to. This little trailer is home, for at least a year. Aside from the space issue, we miss our friends and all of the comforts of home. I miss my yoga classes, morning walks with my friends, and our Sunday music jams.
But despite the challenges, after a couple of soul-searching discussions, we both still agree that we want to continue this journey (Spotty doesn’t get a vote). We’ve been on Lopez Island for almost two weeks now, and in the midst of camp hosting duties and getting the Junior Ranger program up and running, we’re figuring out how to make ourselves more comfortable. Stay tuned for details.
I have always wanted to do this. So I’m hoping things get better as you move through this journey. I want to do it with a small dog though and my husband! Love following this and hoping you will write about your conversations about sticking to this journey. It sounds like a great life lesson in sharing a small space.
Karen, I think a small dog will be easier than a cat! A litter box is not fun to travel with. ;-(
So far, the advantages to traveling are still outweighing the challenges…thanks for the encouragement!
I enjoy reading the honesty, still laced with your humor regarding your journey. There is no way you could have foreseen Spot’s impact on your small space. Perhaps you could get her to wait till morning by putting the litter box away during the night. Also feeding her another time might help. The only other suggestion would be to play cards in the evening and the loser has to do the “deed” that night. At least one of you might get some sleep. Best of luck negotiating all that presents itself with ingenuity and humor.
Thanks, Sue! We’re trying a different feeding schedule with Spottie, hoping it might change her routine…Trying to maintain a sense of humor definitely softens the edges of whatever is happening. Haha, love the idea of the card game…
Ah, life in the slow lane…how about a cat door and she goes out at night on her own? Seriously we wouldn’t know the good times if we didn’t have those flies in the ointment…Swami Spotty and her lessons in parenting, schedule adjustments, and relaxing most of the time…and as my friend Victoria used to say, “at least this is shit you can see.” Miss you both and enjoy your humor always!
Swami Spotty–of course you would think to bestow her with that new name!! It truly is a spiritual lesson, I know that it is, yes, I’m sure of it…(just wish it didn’t come in the form of cat poop).
Hi Laurel and Eric, I’m glad to have gotten to know you at Peggy’s and sorry we did not get any pictures! I’ll so enjoy reading about your journey. I hope someday to do something similar.
Maidie, we had fun sharing dinner and conversation with you! Your adventures would make a great blog.