We’re back from home after an entire month on the road. It’s been in our dreams for decades, in the realms of possibility for a few years, planned for months and, finally, became our August reality. You may know we’ve been avid #vanlife followers for quite awhile and Ian’s been building out our tiny home on wheels for the past year. Our morning routine became poring over the map of Australia over breakfast and both of us, list makers and planners, have scraps of paper with the names of roads and highlights to visit and must see natural wonders taking us into the centre of this continent we call home.
We’ve set things up to enable us to work as we travel. how could things go wrong? Well, day 3 on the road and routine was well and truly abandoned. I was bereft. This may surprise you but I’m a creature of habit. I know, shocking, right?! My version is a little more flexible than the family might think it is but it’s definitely critical to how I roll every day. There are some crucial things that simply must happen. Coffee. Writing. Walking. Reading. You know, the important things.
My body was stiff and sore from hours in the one position, one foot hovering near the clutch, the other on the accelerator (this is why she’s called Emanuelle… get it?!). I’d drunk too much wine and not enough water, I missed my yoga and my morning puppy dog snuggles. How on earth could I function without my daily practices in the order they are usually conducted? Honestly, we may have been living in a van but we were not abandoning all the comforts of home!!!
Our little place has a fridge, lights, a pantry, a spot to tuck our clothes. He may need to set it up and put it away but Ian has the stove hot and dinner cooking within moments of pulling in to camp. Everything we need is with us in the van, it’s just (a lot) smaller than at Ardley. And sometimes not as convenient… Case in point, the bathroom. We’re clean (enough). Some days it’s an old fashioned wipe with a wet face washer that keeps us socially presentable. Other days we brave a lukewarm outdoor shower, why, hello neighbours! A night in a caravan park sorts us out for society where body and hair and clothes are all washed and refreshed to take on another day of exploration without odour. Yes, we have a toilet. No, I’m not explaining it all to you. Yes, it’s gross to empty. No, I don’t do it. Thank goodness!!!
Everything that needs to happen for the comfort of daily life happens living in Emanuelle. But there’s one routine that has not translated. Two days went by with no writing, people. Two days!!! I ALWAYS start my days writing (fountain pen, journal, cup of coffee) and this should be an easy one to transport into our tiny home on wheels. Same pens, different journal, same wonderful cup of coffee made by himself (on a camp stove instead of with the coffee machine but I honestly couldn’t tell if one is better than the other!). Except… after driving all day, seeing new things, finding a place to camp, I’m over it. Nothing left in the tank which means no words to be played with. I’ve dreamed of working on the road. No, not literally on the bitumen (there are people in my household who need me to clarify this before we can move on).
I imagined being a digital nomad, working virtually on the road from wherever I find myself. What a romantic title! I already work from home, virtual service is the norm in my business. Of course I can do that from anywhere!
Reality checks can be brutal. My mind was spinning with ideas and beautiful phrases that floated into my consciousness while driving that I had no way of capturing. I tried chanting the keywords under my breath in a vain hope of retrieving them but their life was lost to me when the van stopped. I missed a meeting. I was unable to get connectivity before the last session of a course I’m enrolled in and missed it too. I could feel the waves of reproach emanating from Tallulah and she wasn’t even out of her case.
This living on the road thing didn’t found a predictable rhythm. Perhaps it never will. Fitting those flexible work schedules into my day at home worked because they were housed in a fairly inflexible routine. This creature of habit bookends days exactly the same week in, week out. At Ardley I can offset a hiking day with a writing day, for example, or a busy morning interacting with others with a quieter afternoon, just me and Tallulah. Waking up in a different place each day is exciting but I am not sure which day it actually is and whether there is an appointment scheduled. The time I usually have for creation is taken up with experiences. As I hike I’m composing titles and sentences but by the time I’m back the thought of uncapping the pen is exhausting. It feels flexible but, actually, I’m in quite the structured routine!
Poor me. (Yes, that’s sarcastic.)
It’s made me think a lot about habits and routine and how, when they’re flowing along nicely, we don’t consciously think about the role they play in making the day work out. Recognising this highlighted for both Ian and for me that we actually need to intentionally slow down. Make time. Keep the important things in our days. Stop rushing onto the next place. I’ll let you know how that goes. After staying in the one place for three nights in a row my toe was tapping and, beautiful as it was, there were things to do, people. Let’s get things moving!
That might just be the actual romance of it. The freedom of living moment to moment is more addictive than I imagined. It’s unsustainable in life as I know it right now but that taster has me hooked and I’m doing everything I can to get another fix of that deliciousness.
The map of Oz has been sidelined for a detailed map of the Camino Francés, the 500 mile hike from St Jean Pied Du Port through to Santiago de Compostela. There will undoubtably be words to write on that adventure as well as work to be done and the practice of sliding them into the ‘moment by moment’ experience of a Spanish pilgrimage will be crucial. I’m going to have to put that onto my trip planner and add mens and paper to my packing list.
Ah, who are we kidding, the journal and pens are already packed! Until then, I have a meeting to attend. Can we get Starlink set up, please?
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