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Full Time RV Life During The Holidays
The Holidays including how and where you spend them are a concern for many full time RVrs. Full timers who have close ties with their children and grandchildren may have some separation anxiety at first when it comes to the realization that you won’t be home for the holidays as the song depicts. Even though the cliché states that home is where you park it, it’s sometimes not practical to drive hundreds of miles just to celebrate a birthday or a grandparents day. You will need to choose which holidays are most important and will provide the best memories for you and your family.
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
When the kids are young life revolves around the big holidays like Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Memorial Day is traditionally the beginning of Summer fun and frolic and Labor Day is the dreaded week before school starts up again. Of course there are other holidays that can be celebrated these days; Valentines Day, Grand-Parent’s Day, Pastor, Teacher, Nurse and Secretary Appreciation Day among the many, and last but certainly not least, birthdays. All of the latter are legitimate and fun in their own right and not one is less important than another. However, when you live full time in an RV, considerations have to be made where holidays are concerned. In our case, as full time RVers, my husband and I have decided that when we are out of the state where our grown children live we will stay connected as much as possible via Internet and phone. Since Christmas holds most of our childhood and family memories, our chosen holiday to be home with them all is Christmas.
Special Days and Milestones
Easter egg hunts with the children and large Thanksgiving dinners with all the trimmings; summer parades and birthday parties all have their place when you live conveniently in a home of sticks and bricks but, when your home is on wheels you never know where you’ll be located when any given special day rolls around. When the kids are grown and living their life they will make their own traditions and memories with their very own family and friends. For the full time RVing grandparent to drive their rig home for every birthday and holiday would not be cost effective nor would it be a realistic expectation of friends and family members. It is most important not to lose touch with those loved ones, close friends and family members. Keeping the lines of communication open is not so difficult in this age of modern technology and will be discussed at the close of this article.
Holiday Traditions Birthed On The Road
While life on the road in an RV has some lifestyle changes that a full time RVer will have to grow accustomed to, there are many more positive aspects of this lifestyle that should not be overlooked. It is on this road that many good people enter your life. Like minded people with a story to tell and an adventure to share. Life long friendships are birthed on the road and you will soon learn you are not alone at Mother’s Day and Father’s Day activities or at the campground Thanksgiving dinner table . Your paths will cross again and again; you will hear stories of places discovered by others that you have yet to explore. You will share with each other life experiences such as graduations and engagements, weddings and new homes purchased; grand-babies are born and parents will pass. Bonds are established and with these bonds holiday traditions are birthed on the road.
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
There are many ways to connect with the family on those special occasions that this full time lifestyle eludes. When a trip home is not always feasible and the full timer can not be present, you can mark those special days in the lives of your friends and loved ones with email cards, Facebook, and online photo albums. Skype video and voice conversations as well as You Tube videos are all clever and ingenious ways to share a song or birthday greeting from the youngest grandchild to the eldest great-grandparent. Modern technology allows real time communication across the miles as easy as clicking the mouse on the computer screen.
In closing I’d like to say that down-sizing your life to a lifestyle of living in an RV is not a step down as some may think, not by any stretch of the imagination; rather it’s a step up into life’s final hurrah. The kids are raised, the house is sold and if you’re reading this from your zero gravity easy chair overlooking your proverbial mountain top you’re in better shape than most. Living debt free wondering how you get away without paying electric bills will never cease to amaze us…Enjoy your freedom to experience life on the road in an RV from Pennsylvania and remember to smile for the camera; you may be grandma’s next birthday card.
Happy Travels !
