Regrets in the Forest

One of the primary reasons we were able to ditch our current lives in Jug Fork and trek out to the forest with no idea where our income would come from was because we did not want to live with the regret that we never gave it a shot. A risk? I guess. However we were both willing to work as hard as we needed to make it happen. I would always tell people that we may have fantasized about this life and hate it. At least we would have more data and would know!

So here it goes, here are our regrets...

1. We wished we had lived this way sooner. Seriously...Johnny and I are a little mad no one told us we could have lived in a camper when we first got married. As a matter of fact, we remember a conversation with someone in our family about living in a small trailer and they said we needed something bigger! Isn't that America's mentality? More space, a room for everyone, a room to work in, a room to play in... Whew...These days, when I see people building/buying bigger houses, I pity them. All I see is more time spent cleaning, more upkeep, and less freedom. This is by no means a slam at anyone--some people love building roots at one place and do not desire to go anywhere else. They enjoy all the upkeep and like cleaning toilets I suppose! If we ever build another space--1 bathroom only, please! Seriously!

2. I regret all the time spent riding the train. You know the one I am talking about--"when I get my driver's license...when I graduate high school...when I graduate college...when I graduate grad. school...when I get that job....when we get out of debt...when we have x dollars...." Each time the train "arrived" at the station, I stayed a while. But soon, I was packing the bag and boarding the train again. I remember realizing this train was never going to end. I spent so much time thinking about those stations...whew! To be fair, many of those stations have allowed us to be where we are, so I don't necessarily regret the accomplishments--just all the mental space I allowed those things to occupy! 

3. I regret not working online sooner! I tell you, it is the best! Honestly, I had my hesitations about the quality of instruction people received through online universities. However, my experience this last semester has proven otherwise. All of the feedback given to my students is highly individualized. I watched counseling sessions on every student, every week. Their skills developed much faster and to a higher degree than students in a face-to-face class. I was shocked!

4. I regret all the time I spent worrying about John Gannon. He has dyslexia and certain academic tasks shade the light of his gifts. When I would see these surface, I would get fearful and feel the need to drill more. In this environment, this kid is in his element. He has led so many people from all ages on adventures down the river at the campground. Here is a picture of a 61 year old woman he spent almost 2 hours with leading her down. He started out showing her how to sit on a rock and ease into the water. With his continued instruction, look what she was doing by the end:

It is a pretty common occurrence for an adult to comment about him and something he did for them on a weekly basis. As for Jackson, he is overcoming some of his social anxiety. We have only had one incident in which his "belly hurt" on the way to do something new since we have been here. In addition, he is starting to initiate conversations with others on his on--without being dependent on us. I have honestly been able to take a deep breath and enjoy their strengths like never before.

5. I regret not taking more pictures. I am trying to get in the habit of keeping my camera with me, but I haven't been doing such a good job with that.

There you have it, some of our regrets. Thankfully, we will not live with the regret of not taking the risk and leaving normal life for a while. Maybe this will be our new normal for a while!

Live a Meaningful Life!