4 Weeks in a Van

Tonight marks 4 weeks since we made our caravan our home. In that time we packed up and moved from our home of 16 and a half years, helped pack up my Dad's house of 30 years (my childhood home), said goodbye to family, lifelong friends, long term neighbours, the girls' much loved school community, Noah's family day carer of 2 and a half years and preschool. Last week we started our new life on the Coffs Coast by moving Dad into his new home whilst we are parked at a local caravan park, put our possessions into storage and orientated ourselves with our new surrounds which are so familiar after 12 years of family holidays here but yet so new.

The last 4 weeks have been an emotional roller coaster, fuelled with tears, laughter, grief, wonder and joy but thankfully not an ounce of regret. There was no time to blog or mental capacity that enabled me to string a coherent sentence together other than a few Facebook posts (which may or may not be coherent?!), it's only now that we have had a chance to catch our breath and since our TV isn't working (there's always something, gotta love caravans!) that we've had a chance to reflect on the last 4 weeks in the van.

For a bit of fun, here are the top 5 things we've learnt over the past 4 weeks...

1. A shower is a shower. The Camden cold played havoc with our hot water supply meaning that most nights there was little hot water left in the tank after the kids had showered for Adam and I to enjoy a hot shower. That left us with options a. shower in the van and freeze in cold water b. go to the freezing shower block and have a hot shower only to have to step back out and become completely snap frozen c. don't shower. Needless to say option C was exercised more readily than options A and B. Over the 4 weeks I have found that my 'shower appreciation' scope has increased vastly to now include very brief showers where the water is not as hot as I would normally have it nor are the showers as long but they are equally as enjoyable. Tuesday's long, hot visit to the caravan park shower block to attend to some maintenance thanks to my razor as well as have a decent hair shampoo had me feeling like I'd had a trip to the day spa! All in all after having to exercise option C quite a bit over the past few weeks, I've concluded that a shower is a shower! Take it anyway you can!
2. You can never have enough vomit bags strategically placed in various emergency locations throughout the caravan and car. I don't think this needs any explanation!
3. It's possible to not miss the dishwasher. Previously on holidays in the van the chore of washing up after always using a dishwasher at home has been a drag but strangely now that this holiday is really our lifestyle it feels different. I confess to having a habit of regularly using disposable plates in the caravan to reduce the amount of washing up but so far the disposables have mostly stayed put on the shelf. Doing the dishes is easier in our new home and I can't explain why. We do tend to use less dishes and cups but is that because we know we'll have to wash them or is it because we just have less (dare I say unnecessary) equipment with us? The kids only have one cup and one plate each so that's what they use. There's no getting a clean cup every time they want a drink but instead they have to find their cup and refill it. The girls are expected to wash up after breakfast and it's during this time that I often hear fun and friendly banter between them as well as negotiation, team work and the odd share of bickering. The job is easy and hassle free and for the first time in the van I'm not missing the dishwasher!... my 8kg washing machine on the other hand...!
4. Stormy night, parents delight! To be honest we already knew this but have had a few stormy nights to test out the theory over the past few weeks. ;)
5. Home really is where you park it. Having spent plenty of time in caravans our kids are well adjusted to caravan life and so are we, but could we really make it our home? A few days into our stay at the local caravan park whilst we were still packing up our house, it was late in the evening and I had really had enough for the day. Without a second thought I recall blurting out to Adam to hurry up and finish what he was doing because "I wanted to go home"... it was at that moment I realised that it hadn't taken long for us to adjust to our new home at all and that home is where we are together as a family, it's not bricks and mortar.

We could have added a number 6 being that we learnt how lucky we are to have so many wonderful people in our lives but we already knew this. We are going to miss so many people but were reminded countless times that it's not goodbye it's "see you later". We are so grateful for the love and best wishes we have received, it has been truly humbling. Xx