Surviving The Pandemic...

What day of this mess are we into right now?

This past year has been unlike anything else we have experienced. It has been trying at its best. Putting people's resolve to the test.

We have experienced death, protests, violence, mayhem, triumphs, joy, hunger, desperation, depression and in some small pockets gratitude and happiness.

The world is temporarily closed. But it doesn't mean we have to stop living.

In the summer of 2019, my husband and I decided we needed a break. He was driving day and night for Lyft. I was stuck in the family room/kitchen running a full scale "mini public school" teaching my kids. You know homeschooling as they call it. And in between that I was babysitting and together with the kids we were Door Dashing.

All of this to make ends meet, pay off debts, and change our financial standing for the better.

But this crazy schedule was running us into the ground. Although it was netting us more than $5000 a month we weren't happy, and we felt overworked.

Months before he had quit his job as a maintenance man for a local apartment community and together we took sort of a leap on blind faith that we could support ourselves on our own schedule. But months later we had sort of had enough.

And there we stood in the driveway with 3 cars, 2 of which kept giving us issues and having just spent the past weeks selling everything on Craigslist ready to leave it all behind.

Over the months as we he had approached the summer we had become fascinated with this idea of "van life". Selling it all or packing it up, buying a van and outfitting it to meet our needs and then hitting the road. Yes, with the kids in tow!

June 1st, 2019 we made a decision that would change our lives. We drove away from the home we were renting and hit the road FULL TIME as "van lifers". For the next 8 months or so we lived in close quarters with one another, on a limited budget traveling across the country.

But what we gained from this adventure is the most important part of our story and worth sharing with you.

You see the fear of living up under one another while in a state of relative normalcy freaked everyone out that we spoke to.

Some of the comments we endured were downright disrespectful and nasty. Some people questioned our parenting skills. Others wanted to know, had it gotten that bad?

To answer all of that? No, it hadn't. It was a choice. One we made fully aware of the level of commitment and perseverance that would be required of all of us a FAMILY. One that tested our resolve.

And that leads us back to where we stand today, in the midst of a pandemic that seems to not be letting up at all. With rising Covid rates, hospitals pushed to maximum capacity and an overall strain on our healthcare system; how tested is our resolve?

Had it not been for "van life" and everything we gained from being content with each other, nature, confined quarters, and adapting to the adventure before us; I can assure you we would bored out of our minds too.

But those 8 months on the road gave us a sense of peace that the everyday "hum-drum" of going to work, sending the kids off to school or checking out our favorite attraction could not.

Those times on the road when we had to find a new place to "stealth" or came under the leery eye of people enjoying their relative freedoms taught us to be okay with the decisions we had made and the adventure we were seeking.

Those times we were low on money, or met other families on the road whether "van lifers" or oil workers and their lived ones; taught us to be happy with what we have and how to make best of our experiences.

Living in a van wasn't a pity party and the world wasn't closed to us. In fact it was wide open and all we had to do was enjoy it!

But our joy came in enjoying one another. Getting to know one another. Creating memories, and giving our kids experiences we could not give them by working. "Van life" begged us to stay still for a moment, and hear our children's laughter but better yet it begged us to get to know ourselves and what we were made of.

I know you're reading this and thinking "okay this is pretty long winded" but stick with me here. What is being asked of us right now as many of us sit at home getting comfortable with ourselves and those around us?

What's being asked of us as we watch what we have come to know be turned upside down?

The world is temporarily closed but that doesn't mean we have to be. I want those of you reading this story to continue to live life but take joy in being alive surrounded by those you love. I want you to know that it is going to be okay, and that joy comes in the morning.

I want you to know that nothing is too big, too beyond you and too out of reach. I want you to know that anything is possible and that the kindness of strangers is infinite. I want you to wake up and smile. I want you to wake up and enjoy life no matter how trying it can be.

Those ten days we spent stuck in the desert 25 miles outside of Carlsbad with a limited supply of water was a test I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. When my husband got arrested and carted away leaving me stranded with 4 kids waiting for our van to be fixed, I thought it was the end of the world. I spent the next few weeks navigating between loneliness, separation anxiety, despair and the kids emotions.

I was caught in whirlwind of anger, confusion, and wanting to be held by my husband. It pained me to have to console my kids every night while we waited for the inevitable to be over.

But what I gained in the end was strength unlike anything I had seen before. Being left alone without much knowledge of how to turn the generator on or start a fire (I was spoiled by my husband) could have been the end of us. My resolve and determination to make the best of it kept me going. Complete strangers and the generosity of those who heard our cries kept us afloat.

As I close out this story of mine, I want to tell you all that although this may only be the beginning of our new normal. Don't let it destroy you, or knock you off your feet. Take it as it is, and learn something about yourself or your loved ones. Smile. Laugh. Cook. Love. Create new memories. Color. Cuddle. Communicate. Learn. Accept. Listen.

And most importantly, live.....