Mike needed to stay home and get some wedding orders completed, care for our animals and transport our two oldest where they need to be.
Staying here among all of these giant RVs all crammed together makes me wonder even more about our world - I mean there are so many that have so little yet so many choose to spend their money on extra homes and spend their vacations sitting around in an environment much like their home - watching television, hooked up to wi-fi, showers, hot water, AC, and so much more in their own RV. So strange to me - so very strange.
I am staying in one of the little cabins - one of three and one of the only ones that have to use the campground's bathrooms and showers. But even these cute cabins are out in the open surrounded by so many others. I feel uncomfortable here - surrounded by so many people is something I am not used to and I have a hard time trying to comprehend how this constitutes a vacation for so many. An RV right near us put out their Beer Pong table (my 15 year old informed me). Yes, I can understand visiting a new area, exploring ,etc. but so many of these RVs have Vermont plates and I have met many Vermonters that go "camp" in their who-knows-how-long RV just minutes from their home.
As I type this post it is 10:15, much later than I usually stay up but Emmy has just barely gone to sleep and the sounds of "vacationers" is still loud. I do long for home and to be with Mike - for the familiarity of daily life - the animal chores and the bread baking, the noise and chaos and occasional quiet times, the gardens to tend to and the knitting needles to knit with - the children to read to and to go on walks with.
But at the same time I need to be grateful for the time with my mother and step-father and the time with Emmy, Sarah, Abby and Isaac - and also for the time that I have to be alive - all we all have is right now - that is all.
Unlike so many others in our society, my life is how I would choose to live. For me there really isn't such a thing as vacation. Really my regular life is just as I would have it. Vacation has become a word that isn't something I look forward to - work for - live my days for - my regular daily life is filled with joys, trials, hardships, celebrations, rewards and challenges - but above all, it is my first choice.
Dear sweet Tonya, I am sorry you are feeling uncomfortable and longing for home. I'm sure I would be feeling exactly the same way, and I agree completely with what you say, our home dailiness is something I never really want to miss a moment of.
ReplyDeleteI am remembering how even when Jason and I were younger, before children, if we were traveling we would always end up going home much sooner than planned.
But I hope you do enjoy your time there.
And oh goodness, you are so close to our wonderful friend!! I wish I was there!!! (Except for the Rv park part, and especially not the ping pong table thing. I can't even say it, but really it's kinda funny, especially to see you say it...)
I love you Tonya! Wishing you happy home days soon!
Renee <3
Hi Renee,
DeleteWe have often come home early from "vacations" too (almost always they are to visit family), not because anything is terrible but because I love being home.
Oh I also just made sure how Isaac knew what kind of table I mentioned it my post was and he reminded me of a movie we had watched where a teenager was starting to go with the wrong crowd....
I wish I had been able to work something out with our friend but I don't have a car - Mike had to drop me off since we only have one car.
Blessings,
Tonya
I appreciate your honesty so much. It's funny how much I used to long for travel or "vacations". But I feel like you now. I definitely appreciate a break from my routine, but our vacations are visits with family that live far away. We are blessed to live in such a way and in such a beautiful place where we get a little vacation every day (as Adam and I like to say...)--a walk down the dirt road, a break at the river, an evening by the fire. :)
ReplyDeleteI have always had a hard time with the 'vacation' that is just a few hours from home and entails all the regular aspects of home. What part of that is a vacation?
ReplyDeleteYou are such an inspiration to me and everyday I look for more and more ways that I can make changes in my life to live more simply.
I could have written this post myself...your words reflect my heart as well! We don't go on vacations (not that there is anything wrong with them) but what extra money we have, we use on home projects and such.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean about the "camping" too...it's strange to me too how people go out and "camp" in a camper and watch TV etc. I would want to be out hiking! :)
Enjoy your time with the younger children and your mom and step-father. I hope you can make the best of a less-than-ideal time! :)
Warmly,
Katy
I too am blessed to live in beautiful place and our situation is very similar to old gates farm-I am much happier at home
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel, Tonya. I too would prefer to be home all the time. A vacation would have to be pretty spectacular (say, a tour of Europe!) to make me really want to be somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI also know what you mean about camp grounds. I love the idea of camping but every time I've seen a camp ground in Ontario, it is so crowded and noisy, and with all the amenities, it doesn't seem any different from going for a vacation in a trailer park. I think you'd have to go pretty far up north to find a place where you could be alone with the wilderness.
People still flock to those crowded campgrounds though, so maybe they are looking for something other than wilderness - a place to let loose and party, most likely. To each his own.
so well said...this is Canada Day Weekend here. So many of us will be frantically driving here and there to "celebrate". Vacation is not a word that our society undestands. We used to tent camp and would always wonder how people could call "RV camping", camping, all packd together in what is really just a big open parking lot. We had to keep reminding ourselves that they were having a good time in a different way than we would choose....we now choose a private, quiet cottage rental.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to feel out of place. i hope that you enjoy this time for what it is and find peace among the desperate, sometimes frenzied holiday celebrations going on around you. thank you for your post
Finally I found someone who think just like me! I can't be on 'vacation', it is so stressful.
ReplyDeleteI so know how you feel!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me to be grateful for the simple space I call home!
I'm new to your blog and am enjoying it so much! We live on a farm in southern PA and all I need for vacation is a leisurely morning where no one needs to rush off and a little extra guilt-free time with my latest library book.
ReplyDeleteWe went on an extended RV trip with my in-laws and though they are dear people I did feel like we were lumbering ever closer to perdition! Such waste!
You will feel so blessed to be back home after! Same here in Delaware. People buy or rent vacation homes at the shoreline, which is only an hour and half away! (We just drive for the day).
ReplyDeleteAMEN to every word!
ReplyDeleteWhen one is content at home....home is where one is most comfortable :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings
I'll never forget the camping trip we took a few winters back... drove down to FL and toured the state parks (FL's state parks are AMAZING, btw).
ReplyDeleteHere's the kicker: The most popular RV, by a long shot, was called The Intruder. For real. We had much debate over whether this name was intended as a joke, or whether whomever named it was truly that clueless.
We decided to camp ( tent) at a National park about 2hours from our farm a few years back. It was a place I spent many memorable summers at as a child. It was a rude awakening. The closeness of so many other people felt like I had relocated to a city! Hardly what I would call " getting away from it all". We hardly slept, and felt we were living in a fish bowl. Living on a farm with it's attendant privacy and peace makes you acutely aware of how much simpler life could be.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing that you could spend time with family. I also find that being away makes me long for the peacefulness of home (even though we live in a neighborhood).
ReplyDeleteI also can't understand why people love to spend time in their RVs packed together....not my idea of a holiday either!
You prefer to be Home because you are content.That is because you are a Christian and you have all you need inside to make you happy.You don't need to run around looking for entertainment or rest.You have your rest.
ReplyDeleteEven contented (and at peace with who we are in Christ) Christians like to travel and explore (smile). In our case we do this because we love creation and people. We want to experience what God has made and meet people.
DeleteFor many years, my husband and I would rent a small cabin at an RV park near our favorite beach. It worked well for us--an inexpensive place to stay in an otherwise pricey town, and we could cook there. But the number of people who never seemed to leave the park and visit the beautiful beach, the nearby nature preserves, or even the cute tourist town--and just lived like they normally would, only in an RV--mystified me. Unlike you and many of the other commenters, I enjoy travel a lot, much as I love my home. But if I'm someplace new, I want to get out and see the sights, not watch TV. (Then again, I don't watch much TV anyway...)
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Loud and clear.
ReplyDeleteI love being at home but our family is increasingly venturing afar and I'm learning to love that also. Learning how to create routines and rhythms that ground me, regardless of location (smile).
And if I'm going camping for camping sake( vs. camping at a festival like we did recently) I want nature, woods, water and hopefully a summit to hike to also. After backpacking regular campgrounds as destinations hold no appeal to our family, except for the pools which my kids always love (smile).