Being Unreasonable At The Same Time

When we first began living this lifestyle, we knew from the start that it was exactly how we wanted to live the rest of our lives. There have been many challenging moments during the past few years but nothing as prevailing as our first adventure.

We left the campground on our first voyage and had to drive separately because we did not have the correct hitch for our Jeep. We left in the snow, sleet, slush that finally turned into rain. We were determined to pick up the hitch, install it and drive off happily ever after…now anybody following our blogs knows this is not our reality most of the time. It took a lot more time than we anticipated to get it all installed and then to learn to hook it all up.

At last, we were on the road but for just a very short time when the rig began this uncontrollable shaking. Luckily, we were near a town where they had a shop that worked on RV’s and after several hours, the issue had been resolved. It was late into the evening, they offered us some electricity and a place to park for the night, and we graciously accepted. If you have never experienced spending the night in a Dealership/Repair shop then you might not understand. This place in particular leaves all of their lights on all night long…it is like sleeping in your home with every light in the house on or trying to sleep during the day. Some folks can do this; we are not one of them.

After discussing our options and deciding that since we were running out of time and money, some readjustment of our plan was necessary. We made a reluctant choice to head straight for Phoenix without any of the fun stops. Now combine that with no sleep and being new at connecting the Jeep to the motorhome was a recipe for disaster. Luckily, early into our marriage, we made an agreement, which has been one of the main factors that have kept our marriage so strong, and that is the two of us could not be unreasonable at the same time. What happened next could be described as our turning point…

Now that we are connoisseurs at connecting our Jeep, it is very hard to believe we ever had so many problems at the beginning…but we did. Jerry standing between the rig and the Jeep and I, Kimberly in the Jeep all along lining it up using hand gestures. First attempt…failed…second try…closer but still not lined up…after awhile we lost count of how many attempts we had made and we were burning daylight hours…then the hand gestures began telling an entirely different story. Time continued to pass…I finally got out of the car to see just what he wanted me to do…big mistake.

There was no discussing anything, within moments our voices were loud and I very angrily said, “I am done, I am going back to drinking and smoking and the heck with all of this.” This was very irrational and it was his turn to pave this over because of our promise to one another but instead he replied, “Yea, I agree let’s go to the bar so I can get a shot and a cigarette too!” It had been quite a few years since either of us had smoked or drank and we were not about to start back again but it just came out. We both just stared at one another for what seemed like forever…then in the next moment we were laughing so hard we almost wet ourselves.

Once we let all the frustrations go, our next attempt at hooking up was successful and we moved forward, not only in our travels but in our marriage too. Now, every time we hook up, we smile and remember that together as a team we can handle every obstacle that comes our way.