In the summer of 2015 we had started to talk about it and Jason even shared at work with his boss and his peers this was something we were going to be working toward. He started to have job offers in the fall of 2016, but they didn’t work out for a number of reasons. Then came a serious and very lucrative offer in late spring of 2017 that made us pause and consider what precisely were we looking to do.

New Year’s Eve at Pine Island Beach

Final Kiss of 2017 at Pine Island Beach New Year’s Eve 2017

New Year’s Eve at Pine Island Beach 2017

Pine Island Beach Area, inland marsh

Willy’s beach side cafe at Pine Island beach

Jason was excited at first about what the offer entailed, but that offer meant a relocation to North Carolina with a prospect of only a day a week working from “home.” It was also pretty clear that “home” needed to be stationary. While this meant Jason could be home with Barb more than he was previously, it still didn’t seem like the lifestyle we were looking to find. At that time we knew the University could not counter offer the financial package, but we had hoped they could on the telecommuting. In the spring of 2016 that wasn’t possible either.

It seemed after turning down that offer, we had to shift our gears to a different approach. We also realized during that process, we needed to start “unloading” the house. Early in the summer we started the “purge” of the house, getting rid of things that were easy to do. Stuff we moved into the basement seventeen years ago when we built it and never used it since. We had to come to grips with handling things with a history, that we liked to know we had, things we wanted and what we needed. Once we met with our realtors from the Coldwell Banker Johnson Group, this set us on a path to pick up the pace while it also got much tougher and tougher to do since the easy things were done. In July and August we pushed hard every evening and every weekend to prepare for the sale. August 1, when the cats were away to be laser declawed, we moved in the RV next to the house. The cats never came back to the house and now love their new views each week out the window. Being in the RV we could focus on the house, keeping it clean as we went along. By mid-August the house was on the market and it was sold, then by the end of September we had closed.

By the time the house was sold, we had no “future” solidified yet. Jason had a job, but would he be changing it? He had several interviews and offers to consider. Timing of the house sale left us wondering did we need an apartment for winter? Back in March 2017 we hedged on that we wanted a “full-timers RV” and bought a new 5th wheel trailer, which seemed to answer our year long question of a motorhome vs. a 5th wheel trailer. (Which we still don’t seem to be settled on yet by-the-way.) Then we found the 2015 RAM truck that addressed our four year old pickup that was rusting prematurely at a rapid rate and seemed to be a perfect match in design and capabilities to the new trailer.

As all of this unfolded, Jason continued the job hunt, operating under the idea that the University would not be flexible with the telecommuting options. In September, Jason received an offer as a lead unified communications engineer for a small Minnesota (which also had a Florida division) based call center company. They were looking for a position that was local to Minnesota but at the same time was open to a 100% telecommuting option. Then with resignation letter in hand, Jason was counter-offered an option to telecommute with the University up to 75% of the time.

The University counter offer completely changed our direction of life. We were hours away from signing a short term lease on an apartment in Woodbury, MN, and this spectacular opportunity came to light. While Jason was again excited by the new prospects, the non-university offer came with only one week of vacation and not until after one year of being with that company! The health insurance was better by giving us a nationwide local coverage option, but it increased our out of pocket cost of nearly $7,000 per year in premiums! After 20 years with the University now Jason can maintain his sick leave, incredible amount of annual vacation and maintain consistency with his direction. We were going to take a pay cut, for the 100% telecommuting flexibility. The telecommuting is starting at 50% time (over an annual period) and is expected to be approved at 75% time. This gives us a few months in the River Falls area in the nicest time of the year. This happen with only about two weeks until the close on the house, we pushed hard and rewarded ourselves with some downtime in Michigan before Jason returned to the office to prepare for the November 1st departature.

Christmas Day Event

Thanksgiving 2017 was novel when wearing shorts at our festive table outside. But Christmas was tougher being away from family and friends. We shared in the Christmas festivities of the Escapees RV Club here at Sumter Oaks RV Park with a Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. We paid the club $2/plate for the ham and the rest of the table provided the remainder of the feast. We had a great conversation with a Red Cross couple at our table and enjoyed the presence of others on the holiday day. We also had a great opportunity to worship both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Zephyrhills, FL, at a WELS church.

At each step of the way we asked ourselves, “are we really doing this?” We look back to the preparation to begin full time RVing and it was amazingly euphoric as we went through that now. As we reflect on this history there is little we would do differently, it had to be led with some prayer and some leaps through the uncomfortable. This was the right time. God guided us through a number of ups and downs to give us the ability to now appreciate what we do have and to appreciate even more so what we do not now have. What started with a lucrative offer ended up being status quo, we knew it was not about the money but it was about the flexibility of Jason being able to spend more time with Barb and for us to become nomadic together. The qualities of life for both have increased because of sacrifices we have made and so have those around us.

While we look back at what was a year or more of process, we have many to thank for this. From Jason’s boss and co-workers who enable him to be remote, to our families who helped us clean and repair the house, are storing a few things we need to yet purge, while at the same time now go out of their way online to include us in family events. We have God to thank for the opportunities he gives us and for showing us that by purging stuff and focusing on listening to his guidance we are indeed protected.

We are very thankful for a great 2017 and look forward to a less chaotic 2018. Since most campground reservations are either six months in advance or open beginning January 1, we have been planning out the 2018 season. Given Jason has weeks of vacation, we are going to capitize on our annual Disney passess, probably return to Dollywood for Christmas 2018 and in between see some of the bigger sites of the United States and Canada.

We now end our time in Bushnell, FL, since we have arrived in Florida earlier in December. We will return to this area, but now we go to explore other areas of the state. Since we departed River Falls we have made several stops along the way, pausing for a week at each of those spots. Only once did we not stick at one one of the locations we had planned, which was the Mammoth Cave area due to the Internet issues. We look forward to family visiting us now over the next few weeks. Then we will begin our return to the North with an anticipation of being in River Falls, WI, by Easter.

Dade State Park, ancient oaks

Dade Battlefield State Park

Dade State Park visitor and learning center

Final 1835 battlefield of Dade, at Dade State Park