Life is Recovery

This may appear to be the first post on this brand new blog, but it’s more like the tenth.

Life changed, what can I say? Sometimes you’ve got to brake, switch gears, and zoom off in a different direction.

When I started it a few months ago, my husband and I thought we were moving from the Southeastern U.S. to Belize, a small, English-speaking Caribbean country. And now we’re not.

Why? We have a lot of reasons, but the tides began to turn on that dream when we realized we might have to fly our 21 lb. cat in cargo, and that is a no-go because he’s actually a baby squish bear and would lose it. (And we can’t torture him like that.)

Then … some other things (including a tax on our RV), which I may get into later … but, in sum: Belize is not off of the table forever, however it is off of the table for now.

We Bought a Used RV

Oh, yeah. We did it. And to keep things complicated we bought it in South Carolina while moving from North Carolina to Florida.

It was a good deal, okay? A PITA to get registered and home, but a good deal.

About six weeks ago we purchased a 2017 Coachmen Pursuit with fewer than 10,000 miles on it and only a few dings and scratches. Fortunately, my husband is a very handy guy and the machine is ultimately in excellent shape and those dings and scratches are presently being buffed out, so to speak.

We are also very fortunate to both have been remote workers since long before the pandemic, and we both have the blessings of our respective employers to go forth and work from the big machine currently gathering pollen in the driveway of our ‘sticks ‘n bricks’.

Also a fortunate thing: We both have lots of experience with tent camping and working from the road. And when I say “lots,” I mean years worth, and, again, long before such things were mainstream. In fact, the last time I was working from a tent was in 2012 and I was in areas as remote as Manley Hot Springs, Alaska — so, a lot has changed, and for the better I think.

Downsizing and Selling Our House

We are in the throws of preparing our home of ~20 years for sale, and we’ve been at it for about six months. We are tired.

If all goes well, we’ll be listing our home in suburban Charlotte within the next month or so. By that point, we — my husband, our three (THREE!) cats, and I — will be fully moved into RV life.

Downsizing a roughly 2,000 sf home into a 29′ a-class RV has been a process, as I’m sure you can imagine.

The cats are aware that something is afoot, though they’re unsure what. The 21-lb squish bear I mentioned before is all about the RV, however.

Of course we thought he’d be the first one to freak out because, generally, he’s scared of every little peep or puff of air. Instead, he hopped right up the stairs and has been all over every inch of the place. So, whew.

New Blog, New Ventures

As you can tell, there is a lot going on in my world right now.

With that in mind, it probably seems like a terrible time to start any new venture. And I get where you’re coming from with that.

However, it’s precisely because there is so much going on that I find I need an outlet more than ever.

While this is a new blog, I am no stranger to blogging or media creation in general. In fact, I am a former journalist and actually have a B.A. in Communications/ Mass Media with a minor in Journalism from the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

When I first started working as a journalist I was creating as many as three blog posts per day for a local newspaper in addition to writing other articles for print publications, taking my own photos and video, and on and on. I was even covering the city’s night life for a photo blog, as laughable as that still is.

So, creating a new blog is a comfortable space for me. But will it last? That is the natural next question.

I think so, but no promises.

Why ‘Life is Recovery’?

The title of my blog refers to the reality that all of life after a big diagnosis or major event is recovery, whether that diagnosis is physical or mental, or whether you’re recovering from a serious trauma or just doin’ life. (Life is hard.)

As the world becomes more artificially generated, I’ve got the urge to go back to my Y2K-era blogging ways where I can be real and vulnerable but also anonymous-ish.

I’ve been through a lot in this life, and while I don’t feel the need to regurgitate all of the details now, suffice it to say that I understand what it means to feel like it’s tough to face another day.

So cheers to doin’ life today, okay?

This blog is about that. Cheers to doin’ life today. And that’s pretty much it.

Ya, life is complicated. Ya, I have no idea where I’ll be in a year or what, exactly, I’m doing today. Sure, perhaps I am the driver of my own anxiety …

But you know what? Life is also pretty damn cool, too. So, cheers to you and cheers to me, and cheers to doin’ life today.

I am nervous, excited, curious, and ready to go.

The suburban life, it turns out, was never for me. I’m ready to get back on the road and to find adventure in every day living. With cats fluffy overlords.

Hopefully, the content I create will help others as much as it helps me to keep doin’ life.

Remember: Everyone is recovering from something, so be nice.