Lessons To Take With Us

Another hot day but the breeze coming through is still comfortable. Cooking a batch of okra, tomatoes, onions and herbs from the garden for the freezer today... this winter, thawed and cooked with sausage or shrimp it will be awesome! We have green beans that need picked this evening, we'll snap, blanch and freeze those, too. Dinner will include fresh green beans with bacon, and a skillet full of sliced and sauted radishes, and if you've never sauted radishes in a little butter (I use half butter, half coconut oil) you have no idea what you're missing!
We're feeling that a job for Rick is close, so we've been working on getting our things cleaned out of mom's garage, cleaning up the yard and garden, organizing things so they'll be easy to pick up and move when we get our own place. That's led me to thinking about the things I'll miss about living in the RV and lessons we've learned this summer.
 One of the big things I'll miss is living so close to nature, and being so in tune with the weather. I love having the outdoors surrounding our bed as we sleep, with open windows right up againt 3 sides of the bed. Love waking up with the sun coming up at my feet, seeing the morning colors before I even lift my head off the pillow. I will also miss the small space. Ever since I was little, I've loved small spaces. I feel more secure in small spaces than I do when there is a lot of space around me. Small spaces don't make me feel claustrophobic, but cluttered spaces do, no matter how big they are. I'll miss the ease of cleaning "house" that only takes a few minutes every day.
 The main thing I won't miss is the bathroom, which is only 4'2" x 2'7" including the shower. I won't miss having no running water and having to haul water, either.

Things we've learned are too numerous to list here, and some I can't even put into words.

•  We've learned we can live with a lot less heat in the winter and feel better in the process.
•  We've learned we can live without AC in the summer, and plan our cooking in the evenings when it's cooler. 
• We've learned to work with nature, building it up along with our garden. Helping beneficial insects and birds, we've increased their population here in this area. Gardening isn't a fight against natural process like so many seem to think it is. We've had a huge harvest this year, and we've not used any chemicals, we've co-existed with insects that have eaten some of our plants, but we believe there is room for all on this planet. 
• We've learned to trust our instincts and not other people's advice when it comes to planting onions.
• We've made a list of things that grew well, things that didn't, things we want to change  and are already planning for next year.
• Living in this close proximity to my mother has reinforced in me - in all of us - how we DON'T want to live.
• We've learned it takes very little in the way of material goods to stay content. We don't need closets full of clothes, boxes full of jewelry, a house over filled with furniture and knick-knacks, two vehicles, the biggest house on the block... The computer keeps us connected with like-minded people, we have our favorite books, and we spend our evenings thinking, talking, reading, occasionally watching a  movie, and we love spending time playing with Ranger, the dog. 
I'm going to try and write here again regularly.. weekly if possible, but so many of our days are exactly alike they may not make for good reading. I'll see what topics come up for me, and we'll go from there.