Where are you from?

For the past fourteen or so months, we have been living in our motorhome with our four kids, traveling around the country, exploring, deepening our family relationships, having fun.

Everywhere we went, from campgrounds to RV parks, from rural to urban, the first thing we are asked is “where are you from”.

We didn’t have an answer. At least, we didn’t have a simple answer.

You see, we sold everything, including our home (although we didn’t sell the house immediately, we sold the house about a month ago when we decided we adored this lifestyle and chose to continue living it indefinitely) and decided we wanted to see the world, starting with our own country.

We were no longer “from” a specific place, as we had no intentions to “return” to a specific place.

“Where are you from?”

“We travel ‘full-time’”

The responses we received were amusing, to say the least.

“How? Don’t you have to work?”

“You aren’t old enough to be retired!”

“You aren’t allowed to do that!”

“We worked our whole lives to do this. You should have to also.”

“What about your kids?”

“What about jobs?”

“You’re homeless?”

“You’re teaching your kids to be homeless?”

“You lost everything?”

Yes, truly. These were responses we received. Yes, we had positive ones too, but those were fewer and farther between than might be assumed.

To the negatives, I never share anything. I just smile and nod and move on, realizing they wore their ignorance and bigotry right out in front, where it was plainly visible.

To the positives, I share everything. I let them know how we live, the businesses we’ve built and sold, why we choose being debt free over financial slavery, how we maintain a income, how we afford it all, how our kids are functioning, etc.

We all live our own world-view life and we project our lens of life on other people. This is normal. It’s to be expected.

What is not normal is to demand compliance to your world-view. To decide that your way of life is how all others should live. To determine that others living different lifestyles are abnormal, are uneducated, are ignorant, are trailer trash.

At some point along the journey, someone told us we lived an “alternative lifestyle”. We laughed and laughed over that statement (it came from a positive friend). We were really amused, even more amused when it hit us . . . we DO live an alternative lifestyle. Wow.

To some, we are damaging our kids.

To others, we are giving them the world, literally.

That is our goal. To give our kids, and ourselves, the world.

I’ve embraced our persona of “trailer trash”. I love being “trailer trash”. I love knowing that I discombobulate people. I love that my “alternative” lifestyle sends their lens of life off-kilter.

Maybe, just maybe, I can teach someone that they too, need to live life off-kilter, just a bit.

Become trailer trash. You won’t regret it.