Life Plans in a Nomad’s Eyes

Being a nomad is such an amazing life. Just less than two months ago, we rented out our house, bought an RV and took off on a special journey. Most people seem to be in shock of the idea. I have heard the word “stable” and “roots” mentioned to me a lot as a reason why traveling with two small children is not the greatest idea. However, in a way, I was built for this life. I moved around as a child, joined the military at age 19, lived around the world and now have my own RV. It seemed to be a perfect next step.
There is a drawback though. All my life I have been looking for that next step. How to advance my career, how to make more money, how to be more independent, how to raise the best children that I can; each step is more like a puzzle piece in my unfinished life. Even now that I am on the road, I am constantly searching for the missing piece my story needs.
Traveling does not help this quest of mine to finish my life puzzle. In fact, I feel as though it only gives me more and more pieces to work with. Every quaint town or beautiful city has something spectacular to offer. Sometimes the location offers serenity, a calmer life. Sometimes it is more exciting and offers prospects of money and challenge. Sometimes, it is just the familiarity that entices me. They all hold a shared trait: new adventure.
We have found that as we have begun this trip, our talks have become more centered on what our life plan is. Do we settle down in a sweet mountain town in California, establish a farm in New Mexico, build a tiny house in Maine? Or do we simply stay moving, planning, thinking and collecting memories.
There are really no perfect plans and no real answers to any of our questions in life. As humans, we need to feel passion so we do what brings us that reward. The downside of being a nomad is the fact that anywhere I am, I am perfectly content at that time. I can and will find beauty in just about anything and fall hopelessly in love with the places I explore. That may not sound like a downside until you have been so many places. You begin to wonder where is that perfect spot. Have you already found it or is it just around the bend and down that next road? Your dreams consume you at night of places your hands have never touched. It is a wonderful, yet tiresome battle that I face everyday.
Maybe what I need to do is to put all of our ideas in a bucket and blindly grab our destiny. Stick to it and accept the new life as our own. Finally establish roots, even if that means we stay on the road and they are in a clay pot on the back deck. The world is ours for the taking, but the main question that needs to be answered is: “What do we want to take?”