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Al and I are thrilled that you have found your way to our blog. We hope you enjoy reading our journal and viewing our photographs of the natural wonder of our United States of America. Let's hit the road together!
Homer, Alaska

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Passing Time

Or, is time passing? At any rate, I do apologize for the lag in posting. I haven't felt that anything I've been doing is worth passing on. I've also been doing a lot of thinking, and that always gets me in trouble :-).

Its been definitely odd, balancing our full-timer life with also buying a home down here in Florida. Maybe because we haven't been on the road for very long...it'll be a year on March 27. So on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays I'm still a workamping full-timer, but Mondays through Thursdays I'm down in Sugarmill attending to the variety of things that need to be done when moving a household and residency from one state to another. It's a dichotomy that I'm having difficulty dealing with. I've also found that I'm letting myself get stressed out just like I was before in my business life, without realizing that I was doing this, and now I have to get myself back on track. Just breathe deep, realize everything is going well, and it is ok. Things could be very much worse.

We have also made a few decisions the past couple of weeks. Our families down here are very important to us, and we wish to spend as much time as possible with them while we are in Florida for the winter months. Also, sites are rather expensive here in the winter, even with the monthly rates. Paying workamper jobs in this area seem to be on the scarce side...I have sent out dozens of inquiries the past 6 weeks for next winter, and of the handful that have bothered to respond, while polite, say they don't have any pay positions, and that they want folks to work during the summer in order to be considered for the winter. I can understand that, but our objective is to see different areas of the country during the summer months. They also seem to want A LOT of hours worked in exchange for a site. So, we are most likely going to be "3/4" timers: we'll leave the trailer in storage for January through March, live in the house, and  take a few camping trips during those months. As we've been told many times, there is no single "right" way to full-time, and I think for the next few winters that this will work for us.

Another decision we've made, that in order to "finance" the 3 months in Florida without paying jobs, we're going to try working the sugar beet harvest in October. We have the time to do it in between our job in Colorado and our return to Amazon. I thought about goofing off for that month in between, but instead of spending money being a tourist, we can make enough in those three weeks so I can relax in Florida. I may have different thoughts AFTER doing it this year, but we're game to try almost anything :-).

So: the game plan: less stress, more fun, work hard, play hard. Life is too short to do otherwise. The house is beautiful, it will be a wonderful place to live in during the winters, and a very good "exit plan" for when we come off the road. We are looking forward to our summer jobs in Colorado, and exploring a new area of the country. Life is very good.

7 comments:

  1. I also have a summer job in Colorado, its more months and hours than I thought I would want, April 11th til Oct 23rd, but then I have 6 months off, hopefully. Sounds like you have a good plan, and relaxing in FL sounds good for next winter.

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  2. What you guys are doing is lots of work. Trying to get your new house in order, trying to plan for your future jobs and not to mention also working. It's a wonder you are all stressed out. Breathe deeply and just keep telling yourself, "And this too shall pass". I can definitely understand not wanting to work next winter in Florida with those restrictions. It doesn't appear to be very lucrative. Have you guys ever given any thought to maybe spending your winters in say... southern Arizona? Absolutely beautiful there in the winter. Just a thought. Take care and regards to all.

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  3. I can see why you feel a little stressed, but it sounds like you are developing a plan that will work for you and that is all that counts:)

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  4. Boy I know how that stress can sneak back into your life.
    And how things can really change moment to moment in terms of what you thought you'd be doing.

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  5. The only thing we know for sure is 'Things Change!' I think the ability to adapt to change is a great skill and a tough one to learn. Sounds to me like you are doing just great!!

    Bill and I always says, if what we are doing isn't working, then we adjust the plan. If you aren't willing to adjust... you will be stressed. Find what works for you!!!

    Just nice to see another way to enjoy this lifestyle!!!

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  6. Lots of decisions! When I lived in Powell, Wyoming, lots of stay at home Mom's, retired women and men drove the sugar beet trucks--they all enjoyed it and the pay was good.

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  7. Your comments in this post remind me of the limitations of labels. I for one have never been good about categorizing things, as a result, labels have never had a lot of meaning to me.

    I'm not sure that the term "Full timer" is all that valuable; but it's funny the way us retirees try to fit into terms that may have little impact on our lives. Clearly, you are retired. What you are after that matters little except as you decide it does.

    Like yourself, we are stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. Our Journey sits too much of the time in storage while we wait to get our brick & mortar house sold.

    The one thing I have learned while waiting is that we can do all sorts of things to make the time pass but waiting is waiting, and waiting is all about patience. If I think my activity is making me more patient I'm only fooling myself; my activities (productive though they may be) are not part of the process of waiting; they are a diversion.

    Given the price of FLA RV winter sites it's not surprising that park owners are looking for a lot of work in exchange for a site -- takes more hours to "earn" the monthly rate. But I can see how it could be frustrating.

    I'm about ready to forget labels altogether.

    In the meantime.... just stay in the moment and live.

    cheers,
    Peter
    http://peterpazucha.com/awaywego/

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