Hi Everyone,
Well here we are on the cusp of Christmas and the end of a decade. What a wild ride the 2010’s have been. So many things have changed for us that it seems almost magical. When the decade started I was a divorced man with two kids, barely making ends meet as I supported my kids and ex-wife. I had been in a new job for 2 years, hooked up with my wife to be, and my paycheck was moving up but at a very slow pace, so almost all of the money I made went to support and survival. Boy was it tough! But as the decade progressed my paycheck increased and my kids grew up, moving on to different activities, retiring from their sports, and graduating High school. RVing was certainly on the list of activities but we were a bit more modest in our adventures than we are now. Lorraine and I slowly built a relationship that ended up with her moving in with me and then spending the next 10 years, living, watching, and supporting me as I went through tough times and a string of financial crises. To say that the decade was easy would be a misnomer, though it seemed hard at the time, looking back the last decade was one of the most fulfilling decades of my life. Why? Well I had a more grownup relationship with my kids, I watched them excel and reach their respective heights in their chosen sports. I watched them graduate not only from high school but also from their chosen secondary education. I saw both of my kids leave the nest and move on and start their new lives as adults. My relationship with Lorraine grew deeper to where I ended up proposing to her and getting married. Over the last four years Lorraine and I have stepped up our glamping and began to live the RV dream and travel more as a lifestyle than a vacation. More trips per year and more time out in our backyard. Wow what a decade!
At the end of every year I take stock of where I am and how the family as a unit is doing. Though we still have our challenges the outlook for us is onward and upward. The financial crises of the early 2010’s have faded away and Lorraine and I are now on top of our financial roller-coaster and have begun to move up more than down. My kids have good jobs and are happy in their lives. All seems to be sunshine and rainbows. I suppose it goes to show that hard work and patience can and does bring good tidings to those that wait. It is a wonderful feeling to know that you are once again stable in your life and financially secure, and are able to help out your kids now as a gift rather than an obligation. It is also a good feeling to see your hard work bear fruit. Not only have my kids turned out fantastic, Lorraine and I have culminated our relationship with marriage, a new RV, and a New House to boot. To say that we feel blessed and rewarded for our hard work and staying the course is an understatement.
Now that the hard work of the 2010’s has paid off its time to look forward to a new decade and what it will bring to our family. Will it be good tidings or heart break? No one knows the future but we can plan for it and do our best to nurture our adventures and dreams. Helping my kids to achieve their dreams will be top of my list along with preparing for retirement, and continuing to build a strong and loving relationship with Lorraine. Do I dare say it but we are now in our golden years? I guess only time will tell; but with a little bit of patience, and some forethought, our future should be bright.
The one thing I have learned over the past decade is to plan and script your life and its future. Stay the course even when it seems impossibly hard. Little steps and successes build into a landslide of good fortune if your patient and wait for it. Our story is just one example of success and how planning helped to bring my family into a better place than where we first started. Just as I have stated many times in our blog, planning is the way to success, not only in RVing but also in life. It may seem hard, it may seem like to much work, it may be intimidating and daunting, but I guarantee you that if you plan for a future you will almost certainly find yourself obtaining your goals.
Now here at the end of 2019, Lorraine and I would like to wish you all a wonderful happy and fulfilling Christmas and a Prosperous New year and decade. May the 2020’s be your decade and may you achieve your dreams and fulfill your plans.
Happy Trails
The Glampurs