It's been a blink of an eye since I've sat down to write anything, more than three months. Since before Thanksgiving we've had our RV parked at a retirement community in Bradenton, Florida where my husband volunteers.

There has been so many wonderful things that we've done from hiking at Myakka State park, Rye Preserve, and Desoto National Monument. We drove down to the Everglades and took a boat tour where we got to see dolphins up close. We have met so many new sweet friends and enjoy the beautiful sunsets! I share all of this on my Instagram and Facebook page to keep everyone up to date, but there are some things I don't share. The past four months have certainly been a time of transitions and hard things. Now, we knew there would be "hard" that came along with this lifestyle, and prepared the best we knew how. I have delayed in sharing hard days not to deceive people in thinking life is peachy, but because I knew I just needed to be still.

What is hard, you ask? Many probably think it is related to living tiny with eight people in a camper. While living small does magnify things, it is not the root of the difficult things!

While we knew we would miss our friends, nothing prepared us for the acute loneliness we felt the first few months away from our closest friends. While we have made new friends, we still go through cycles of seriously missing our friends. (This includes Matt and I- not just the kids!) We text, call, face time, and even send snail mail to keep in touch.

There are certainly aspects of tiny living that could potentially drive you mad if you don't keep perspective. Dishes in the sink, little counter space, constant laundry, toys on the floor... these things aren't really any different from a family living in a sticks and bricks house, it's just that the tiny space magnifies these things.

The same goes for parenting. When a child is struggling with something, not getting along with a sibling, or needs some character training, living in a small space just MAGNIFIES it!

There's really no way to ignore wrong behavior when you are only feet away from each other. This can be good and bad!

Last week I was taking a walk around 8am holding back tears because the hard just seemed too overwhelming. As I passed by a sweet friend's house she looked at me, patted me on the back and said "Keep walking Momma, I've been there". I am so thankful she didn't stop me and pity me. She assured me and encouraged me and told me to keep going.

I always hesitate to share because I hate to sound like a complainer, but I also feel like I would be remiss to discount hard days.

I'm writing this to you, friend who is interested in an out of the box lifestyle. Know that there will be hard days that you will just want to go home (and realize that you don't have a home to go to!) There will be days that do not live up to that dreamy "camping every day" lifestyle that is portrayed! Don't loose heart though, anything worth doing has challenges with it.

I often quote a fellow home school mama, Abbie (@m.is.for.mama on insta), "Hard is not the same thing as bad."

There are so many circumstances in life that are hard (but not bad) that teach you, refine you, mature you, and prepare you for the next thing.

We don't know what the future holds, how long we will stay where we are, where we will go next, or for how long we will live like this. We do know this, it has already changed our lives. We can't imagine being back in a house doing what we used to do. We can't imagine not meeting the people we interact with everyday.

So, as you encounter the hard days, remember that hard isn't the same as bad. Take a walk (I use this time to pray, it always helps!), remember your why, and don't stop!

School, Living, and Parenting on the Road