Realities of an RV Life

As of this week I’ve lived in my RV for 9 weeks.

• Time has flown . . and crawled.

• I’ve made plans, changed plans, and just winged it.

• There have been days where I wasn’t sure where I would be sleeping that night.

• I have climbed up mountains, trekked through deserts, and wandered in forests.

• I have spent more time in Walmart & McDonald’s parking lots than I’d ever thought possible.

• I have met amazing, warm, interesting people and they have shared their wisdom, knowledge, and experiences with me.

• On at least 2 occasions I have had panic attacks because I didn’t know what I was doing.

• My breathe has been taken away by the beauty of a stunning sunset and the majesty of the night sky.

• I am always learning, always discovering, always changing.

All of these things have made this experience so far both amazing and terrifying. But what does this life really look like for me?

Most days I sit in my RV and work.

On the average Monday-Thursday I get up before dawn so I can brew a cup of coffee, read a couple pages in a magazine (a real one, so that I can conserve electricity as well as gaze at something besides a screen), and have my breakfast shake before getting ready the teach. Currently I’m in mountain time but since my students are in Minnesota I’m trying to keep my body clock set to the central time zone.

On days I’m hooked up to electric I will use my electric kettle, otherwise I boil water for my coffee on the stovetop. To conserve even more energy I try to do as much in the dark as possible and keep the temp no higher than 60 overnight. The less the heater is on, the less often I have to stop to fill the propane.

Depending on the day I start teaching around 9am (CST) and teach my regular classes until around noon. Then, to supplement my income, I hop online for private tutoring. While I do have some regulars, for the most part I simply wait for a request to pop up and try to grab it before someone else.

I’ve found great joy in this job. You never know what you’re going to get. I’ve worked with first graders all the way up to non-traditional adults returning to school after a long absence. Most are so grateful for someone who is caring and encouraging, as the reason they need tutoring is because they are feeling overwhelmed. Recently there have been more elementary students. I can sense how lonely and disconnected they feel during the pandemic and I often am just someone to talk to (even when I try to gently redirect them back to their work). I feel the impact I’m making with every lesson I teach.

However, I can’t use my tablet for this tutoring, so each morning I search out a strong Wi-Fi connection, I’ve discovered that McDonalds and Walmarts have blazing fast internet (if I’m parked close enough). It’s a game I have to play each day. Sometimes I know where I’m going the night before, other times I scout out spots as the sun breaks over the horizon. At times this constant unknown is too much and I just accept that I’m not going to do tutoring that day. Because of this, a wonderful friend has agreed to add a Verizon hotspot to her account for me (I’m paying for it, of course), so I can have more freedom.

There is so much uncertainty with this life, but while on one hand the unknown is scary, on the other it’s thrilling.

In so many ways my blog makes my RV life look like a constant fun adventure (it is, don’t get me wrong) but between those beautiful pictures is a lot of work, a lot of time searching for the next place to rest, the next stable internet connection. It’s a lot of time figuring things out on my own.

I’m learning, and I’ll keep learning as I go.

This is my life. As Anne (my favorite literary heroine) says: there’s always another bend in the road. Not knowing what’s around that bend can be scary but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.