Here is how this all started..

The back story.. Six months ago, Mark mentioned in passing something about me being a full time passenger in the truck with him as he traveled across the country as an over the road truck driver.  I did not pay him any mind.  Actually that's not true, I did.  I thought he was nuts.  But then a few weeks later he mentioned it again and I paid a little more attention.  In reality, I became obsessed with the idea. Should I?  Shouldn't I?  Could I handle it?  Could I handle him 24/7?  More likely, could he handle me 24/7?  Would I be bored?  Would I love it?  Most importantly, where would I pee in the middle of the night?  I mean come on, I've got priorities.  So a week or so later, I brought it up to him again, and again, and again.  I probably asked him 67 times if he was serious and if it was something he really thought we could do.  He assured me that he really wanted me to come along, and really thought it would be fun.  A great new chapter in our already wild life story.

 I talked to the boys, my sister, my friends and my mom.  Some of them thought I should jump at the chance, others were a little more wary.   Adam was moving off campus in August and would have a year round lease, so this would likely be his last summer at home. Tyler is married and living in Colorado, Griffin is somewhere out there doing his thing and  Andrew is working and living his adult life so it seemed only natural that it was time for Mark and I to be Mark and Kathy things instead of parents to boys things.  All the boys were off living their best lives, why shouldn't we?

In the end, I decided to go for it.  Let the obsessive planning and panic commence.

I spent countless hours googling information on living as a "homeless trucking family" and how to organize a big rig.  I have made list upon list about suggestions of what to bring, what not to waste space on and what you simply must have.  I have an Amazon Wish List, two planners full of lists, websites bookmarked, and pins galore on Pinterest.  I felt ready on paper.  My daddy always told me " it all looks good on paper" and in this case he was super correct!

What I was NOT ready for was trying to decide what goes with me, what goes to Adam, what goes to storage and what gets donated  I have been working on packing up the house for two months.  It's made a little easier by the fact that Adam is getting 98% of what is in the house for his new apartment.  Trying to decide what clothing I need to bring versus what I WANT to bring is hard.  Bringing only necessary make up was harder.  But seriously, so far the hardest part has been deciding on the nail polish that will travel with us.  I have a very large (over 250 bottles) collection of nail polish and I really love to do my nails.  How was I supposed to narrow it down to a transportable amount??  I finally did get it down to about 35-40 colors and every time I look at it, my heart palpitates a little bit.  :)

So, here we are 11 days out from taking the first mile of the new chapter of our lives and I am so excited!  Nervous too, but very excited.

I will be blogging about our adventures, learning to cook in the truck with my little "kitchen", braving truck stop showers and every thing else that life on the road has to offer.  Hope you will come along for the ride.

Until later.

#homeiswherethetruckis