Founding Member Friday: Ups and Downs, Smiles and Frowns - Recent Learning Lessons and Growing Pains

Twice each month, I put out an exclusive post like this one (often on a more intimate and personal topic OR featuring some of the training materials I’m teaching). This week's mostly personal.

I've been in an interesting headspace recently. 

Spring has always been my favorite season in Texas. However, this year, since my grandfather passed away, things have been bittersweet. 

This is a photo of Lyric, with medium-length black hair with green ends and shaved sides, holding back tears. They are wearing a black leather jacket and can be seen inside their RV with the background blurred.

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Welcome back to another Founding Member Friday!

Twice each month on Friday (sometimes on Thursdays or Saturdays), I put out an exclusive post like this one (often on a more intimate and personal topic OR featuring some of the training materials I’m teaching) that will be brought to you by and for our Founding Members.

The first part of this post is always FREE to everyone on Substack, and the ending is ONLY available to our Founding Members (as thanks for the extra support they give to make this blog possible).

At the time I am scheduling this post, we have thirty Founding Members!

I won’t put them on the spot today, but you know who you are. I can’t thank you enough for your support.

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Monday would is my grandfather’s birthday, and this coming Sunday (though my birthday was one month prior), my grandfather and I would have celebrated our spring birthdays together with the rest of our family. 

Our birthdays were always one month apart. My birthday is March 29th, and my Grandfather's is April 29th.

This was my first birthday since his passing. 

Photo of Lyric, dressed in jeans and a white shirt, holding a big brown hat, as their grandfather carries them, while wearing his own hat.

I don't cry as much, though I still cry at least once every day - often at some random moment that will trigger a memory or a reminder of all the things that were left unsaid between us. 

There were several people I regularly called and texted while on the road. However, through my travels, I shared more with my grandfather than anyone else (besides David, who saw it live because they were traveling with me). 

I sent many pictures and tales to Papa back home over the years. I miss those calls and text messages. 

I find myself crying again as I type this. That’s twice today.

This is our first spring back in Texas since we hit the road two July ago, and though part of me still longs for life on the road, I'm confident this is where I'm supposed to be right now. 

Lyric and David sitting on the hood of their RV, with the Colorado mountains in the background.

Part of me can't help but wonder if I was meant to come home sooner. I would have if I had known how scarce and precious time with my grandfather would be.

Did I make the wrong choice?

I can't change the past. What matters is that we're here now.

Since we've settled down, I've felt more at ease here (in the state I was born and raised in) than before we left, setting out on our maiden voyage in our home on wheels across the southwestern United States. 

I keep telling myself this move back home is temporary (five years tops) while we save up enough money to take care of the many repairs our truck needs before it is safe to hit the road again. Part of me worries this may not be true.

Five years feels like a long time. One year feels like a long time. SUMMER (and every day being triple digits will feel like a LONG TIME) - I've not felt that heat in YEARS and am NOT looking forward to it. 

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David driving the RV and Lyric in the passenger side. The sun leaves harsh shadows on both of them and Lyric is wearing sunglasses.

My biggest fear is that we will never save enough to cover all the repairs and get stuck here. 

I long to be on the road, avoiding getting stuck here forever if possible (though I am making the most of things while we are here). 

The weather has been warm here, and the spring birds have been singing for weeks at this point. Already, there are more sunny days than rainy ones, though today's skies are questionable. 

I will swim in my favorite river and hike on its banks when it gets warmer. 

For now, I've been working a lot... we both have. 

David found a new job that started with a lot of overtime, and I've been working just as much (while David is out of the house). However, David's work is slower than expected, so they've started cutting back on David's hours.

Now, the schedule is nothing like what David was promised initially—but it's Texas, so nothing can be done about that.

It's hard but not impossible. Still, some work is better than no work.... but David doesn't get two days off back to back (and I've matched my schedule in solidarity), which (as a schedule) sucks a lot.

We're both tired because we're working a lot, but we're both doing well overall. 

Founding members have access to the rest of this post as a thanks for their support.