6 months later

Time’s flying and at the same time it feels like a lifetime since we had this other, this normal life.


It’s been six months ( and a few days because I always wanted to write this post and then there was life) since a barely pregnant lady, a kinda tense daddy and a one-and-a-half-year-old with 3 suitcases, 2 backpacks and a ways to big extra bag (with food, because the one-and-a-half-year-old) boarded the plane. There was a return flight booked for in four months. Because by then we should know if `this crazy plan of ours works out, right?


Six months later this family consists of a no longer pregnant but slightly stressed mum, a slightly thinned dad, a wild two-year-old and a still kinda passive newborn.

In those 6 months some things were harder, some things were easier and a lot was different than what we had thought, what we had planned. The hunt for a motorhome was easier, just as reducing our belongings to the very necessary and getting rid of everything else. It was easier to find and get a suitable job, to juggle with two languages and to find friends. It was harder to limit ourselves in some areas, like energy and bandwidth, money (something that wouldn’t have been different in Germany given the same situation) and the immobility (something that sounds so ridiculous giving our situation). We didn’t plan on staying that long in one little town we didn’t plan on falling in love with. We didn’t plan with those temperatures, either unpredictable cold or spring of the century with an almost unbearable heat. We didn’t plan with all those unbelievable nice people, or with those unbelievable high prices for food.

We didn’t expect to drive the distance from Florida to Oregon without ever leaving the County (about 3000 miles). We didn’t expect to meet all those awesome people and to find friendship that easily. We didn’t except saying goodbye would be so hard after such a short time, that we were welcomed with so many helping hands and we didn’t expect to need to many helping hands. We didn’t expect our financial situation to be such a rollercoaster ride, between church breakfast and strict budget and the country of excess. We didn’t expect to be able to crash at a friend’s house, charge the batteries and do laundry. We didn’t expect to get sick and tired of always the same Walmart parking lot, because Walmart boondocking is no made for staying in the same city for 5 months. We didn’t expect to have a police officer come knocking on our door that often, neither did we expect to get away with sleeping in the beach parking lot that long.

Our motorhome crew gained another member, and while we have less than 270 sqft we managed to have a bed for every kid, a play area, bookshelves and a play kitchen. Plus playgroundhopping. Betty was “home” from the very start and the bilingualism is sometimes easier, sometimes harder than expected. Three of us know the choreography to every single song at story hour by heart. And I sometimes dream about row row row your boat.

And the most shocking, the most suprising and the most unexpected: To hear my husband say “You know what? Florida is too hot. I’d like to have some snow once in a while.
Well no, the most shocking part was the cockroach that literally just attacked me from behind. And I have to add, it wasn’t me who just screamed unnatural high, unnatural long and unnatural loud.

I kinda liked this wildlife more: