It’s actually happening. The SUV gets a brake controller next week. I’ve reserved a site at Saddlehorn. My smiling face has a profile at RVShare.com.
This. Family. Will. Camp.
I’m blaming it all on Tammy Callahan Schotzko.
Tammy helps people un-hoard things. Have you ever met someone who naturally brings out a better version of yourself? She is one of those someones. By title, she is a Certified Professional Organizer. But the title fails to capture her remarkable wisdom, kindness, and depth.
I called her last year to say, “I know we’ve never met, but if I give you a credit card number, could you maybe clean up a mobile home that I’m selling?” (When not working life-changing magic, she does first-rate real estate maintenance.)
My poor mobile home. It never had a chance to be happy. That life chapter closed long ago, but no part of it went “gentle into that good night,” and I’ve been in denial for . . . well, let’s say that my denial could have its own drivers’ license by now.
It took a lot of time and even more Kleenex to sign off on the MLS listing last year. But I did it. With Tammy — who went from maintenance professional to Obi-Wan in about two seconds flat — asking the right questions at the right times, I faced the Hoarder Within and told it to Get Behind Me.
Then I began obsessing about putting the mobile home sale proceeds into an RV.
You don’t know from obsessing.
Obsessing to the point where my girls compete to yell, “Mom, there’s a camper!” when we pass one on the freeway.
Obsessing to the point where DH actually winces when I bring it up, asking if we could please talk about anything else for just one conversation.
Obsessing to the point where my own dear mother gets a slightly glazed look when I start to combine tongue jack models and child-rearing philosophies in the same conversation.
But my RV Dream is more than a yen for a composting toilet.
It’s a commitment to this family, this life, this chapter.
It’s a decision to make memories.
It’s a decision to live in my now.
It’s a decision to write a new legacy.
Campermania. Let it begin.
You, Serri, are an incredible woman. I love reading about you, and your family! I’m not sure how I missed the posts from the end of February! Your girls are SO lucky to have you as a mom, and I would guess that their friends benefit as well from the role model you are.
I look forward to hearing more about your camping adventures as they occur!
Love,
Tammy Schotzko, CPO
218-766-0197
http://www.welovemesses.com
TEDx Bemidji Co-Organizer
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Thanks, my friend, for letting me pingback again and again to your wisdom! 🙂 – S
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[…] that burst of honesty/self-pity, I began to wonder if my RV obsession might be a harbinger of larger issues. That line of thought led […]
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Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!
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Aw, thanks, Sister!
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[…] That’s it. We’re going. This. Family. Will. Camp. […]
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[…] An RV obsession is an unlikely catalyst for personal discovery. But it seems that every time I reflect on a loose end, I find a ball of yarn attached. The quest to define a new life chapter has me re-defining lots of things. […]
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[…] Campermania. Let it continue. […]
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