Upon the painstaking renovation process of Dark Nest, we picked at it. The first major project my dad and I worked on was running electricity to three different campsites. Upon completion of that we needed a place with running water, which was the Airstream, a 1985 Airstream International Land Yacht '34 footer, which we parked on a site ( I promise that I'll try to get some photos uploaded to the blog when I dig them out from the archives). We spent many weekends, the kids pitching tents, and us exhausted retiring to the Airstream at night. I remember it vividly, all nine of us housed in the trailer, at times, and picking at projects inside Dark Nest. Year after year, for approximately 12 years, we diligently tackled one thing after the next, putting one foot in front of the other.
In 2016, after five of our children were grown and moved on, to college, work, and independence, we decided to move in with our two youngest. We created space for them and my commute to work was extended by about a half hour, but I figured we needed to cut our losses. There was no sense in taking care of two houses, and our house in the small city we lived in, was just too big to justify keeping. We rushed through Dark Nest's plumbing, building a floor in the furnace area, making it habitable, and with the help of my mom, dad and some family friends, we made our way to sustaining life there.
Most would ask, how do you live in about nine hundred and sixty square feet? Easy, you just have to have thick skin, and you have to share space. It's a nice place, our slice of heaven in the rural community, with great neighbors. The property, nicely landscape provides a get away if we want to step out into our backyard, cup of coffee in hand, and enjoy nature (some eighty seven trees and shrubs that we planted), and the sounds of spring and summer. The downfall is the winter driving to work, thank goodness and hopefully, if all works out, that won't be happening as we make progress to our goal.
The plan, is not for everyone, it's a risk, really, but our goals are paying off. We will be able to begin our travel, put our travel bug to work, hopefully next year, and "part-time" it.
I write, therefore, I procrastinate. I write fiction, so being free from that full time work life will open up some free time to do what I've always loved. For those of you who know me, and for those that don't, just Google Tim Eagle on Amazon to find my book. I'm not going to officially plug it, it was really a flop as far as sales, but I don't write to make a living, I write because it's an escape. Traveling will give me the time I need to write (an escape within and escape), get some video on, and teach others who may be interested in the lifestyle we are going to live.
The "part-time" plan, well, it's simple really, I work a job, (pick a job, any job, just spin the wheel and where it lands, game on). We travel a little. We come back and actually enjoy the holidays that my work has prevented me from fully engaging in through the years, and we head south after the holidays.
We're fortunate enough to have a home spot in Florida, thanks again for my mom and dad. They have always taken care of things in life, and that's where I get a good portion of our inspiration, and drive to "semi" retire. The travel bug, well that comes from my Grandma Ruby, who recently left us (another story, altogether, which I will write),
Today, I'm fortunate for our life, the job I have currently, and am so glad that we were able to give our children the tools they need to succeed in life and gain their own independence. Today, the humidity is rising, another apocalyptic weather condition that will be in everyone's conversation. The birds still sing, the deer still roam, and we still trudge forward to our future together, enjoying every mile, every hill to climb, and we are forever thankful for the life we live. We have no regrets, we will move on, we will love, and we will travel.