My Biggest Takeaway so Far - Blessings

I was talking (actually on a web video chat using ooVoo) with my brother Marty. He asked a great question: What has been your biggest take away so far?

We bought the Allegro Bus aka 'The Roadrunner' three weeks ago. Since then we seem to have peaked in the pace and amount of hectic activity. For the last couple of weeks we have been trying to get everything done we need to do without forgetting big items. Those of you that have recently moved know what I am talking about.

Having gone through that I look back and have a number of thoughts:

• I am very grateful that I have a wife who is willing to take risks. Not crazy jump off a cliff risks, but she is not risk adverse. She is as excited about this new adventure as I am. I am grateful she is technically oriented and mechanically inclined. I probably would not have attempted this if I were alone.
  
• I am grateful for the encouragement of our kids. Though they had to get used to the idea, it was not a hard sell to convince them we were going to go off into the great unknown in RV land and dive into a different life style.
• We were especially glad to get some encouragement from key friends. Some were not convinced this was too good of an idea and a few asked some hard questions. We appreciated all the reactions. Most of all we appreciated those who 'got it' and could see we were serious as we walked down the path of preparing to launch out. It was encouraging to see the excitement of others as the plan began to get executed.
  
• I am thankful to the new friends we have made in the RV community, particularly in the RV-Dreams family. Howard and Linda Payne have blessed us with a wealth of information and a structure to find out great information and answer a whole lot of questions. If you have not done so, I encourage you to check out their web site: www.rv-dreams.com
• A good plan is important. Visiting a lot of RV dealers was very useful. We went to 32 dealerships in 10 states. We picked a date on the calendar 18 months out and it all came together about like we had hoped, though not exactly in the way we were thinking at the time.
  
• A budget is powerful. I would guess finances are the single biggest question about this lifestyle. It certainly was for us. Once we put together a 'strawman' budget and massaged it a little bit -- the whole idea became more doable and a big risk was addressed.

So without getting too carried away on this post, I would say the biggest take away for me is gratefulness. This has been one of the most gratifying 'projects' I have been a part of. I am so grateful to be able to do this with Pam. So far this has not been all that hard (well, some of it has... but I'll cover that another time) because of the planning and because of God's blessing to us.

I am grateful.

That wraps up another entry into the Roadrunner Chronicles. Today I get to put in some more hours teleworking and will start that shortly. Until next time, take care and be safe.