5 things I Learned About My Husband While Renovating Our Trailer

My husband and I met in kindergarten. We were in school together from grade school through college (though we didn’t start dating until after high school, but that’s a story for another post 🙂 ). We’ve been married for 7 years and the trailer is the third ‘home’ we’ve shared together. Given all that you would expect there to be very little surprises at this point in our relationship. But you would be wrong. This new venture has taught me a number of things about my partner in crime, and here are the top 5:

1. He has no opinion about fabric colors. Until you buy them, then he has a very strong opinion. The very first thing I wanted to do to the trailer was bring it out of 1995. So. Many. Flowers. I started out trying to be inclusive, you know, because I’m so indecisive caring. I showed him every pin on my Pinterest page. Texted pictures from JoAnns. Talked endlessly about color schemes. He finally, very politely, said he did not really care what colors I went with, and that whatever I chose would be fine. So I eventually made up my mind and brought home my selections. “Oh. Wow.” He said. “That’s a lot of color!” I may be learning some new things about my husband, but the ability to tell when he doesn’t like something isn’t one of them.

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2. The love for his childhood toys runs deep. My mother in law’s toy preservation skills are something to envy. She has four grown children and an impeccably organized collection of their toys. The most impressive part is that every toy is fully intact, with every piece in it’s place, in the original packaging. I can’t even wrap my mind around this-  there is not one toy in our house that isn’t missing a piece, and forget original packaging. And we’re only 5 years into this parenting gig! A couple Christmases ago we took some of his old toys to give to our kids. They are large, and have lots of pieces, many of which are still too small for our kids (picture a full Jurassic park play set).

 

They’ve been in the attic waiting until the kids get older, and were dragged out during my latest round of household purging in preparation of going full time. I put them in the pile to ask if we could let them go. “Wait, you’re not getting rid of THOSE are you? Umm… my brother might want them!” **calls brother, who repeatedly says he doesn’t want them** “well, he didn’t seem too sure, he might still want them some day .” Don’t worry honey, I tucked them safety back in the attic for when Uncle Matt decides he wants them 😉

3. I’m married to a genius. Ok, so I may have already known this one. But watching him so quickly pick up on new skills amazes me every time. Neither of us have ever set foot in a trailer or RV before now. But in just a few weeks he has been able to learn about and inspect every mechanical, electrical, ect. aspect of the trailer, gaining more knowledge than some who have traveled for years. I nod my head and smile a lot. But I can tell you what colors would look good in there!

4. The color of your shower curtain lining IS important. Really important. 24 hours to pack. Ridiculous September heat. Running errands with 3 kids. I’ll let you use your imaginations to picture the fight that ensued in Gabriel Brothers when I grabbed a pink liner. Enough said.

5. I wouldn’t want to go on this journey with anyone else. A lot has been said to us since making our decision to travel.

Wow, you’re brave!

I could not live with my spouse in such small quarters!

Truth is, I don’t say it much but I know I’m incredibly lucky to have a spouse like Tom, and I wouldn’t dream of living this way with anyone else. We are putting a lot of effort into making this lifestyle work. A lifestyle that will force us to spend as much time together as a family as possible. That’s not just a side effect of this lifestyle, it’s one of the main reasons we’ve chosen it. I can’t get enough of this guy, and I know I’m blessed to be married to someone who feels the same way.

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I just pray we still feel that way after our first trip this week. 🙂

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