Van-Mates

The van seems to enlarge everything, from messes to moods!

Living in a van with a partner has it’s fair share of challenges. These are tight quarters, and that can sometimes lead to more pressure than either of us can take! Luckily we are the absolute best of friends, and have been that way for well over a decade. But even besties can need time apart.

We are learning to dance with ourselves and each other…with this odd and quirky life that we chose, but at times feels so foreign. Like living in a small space might suggest, we are constantly learning to let go of what is unnecessary, to physical stuff occupying our living space to limiting beliefs that pull us away from loving and being loved.

Sometimes our differences in any given moment make us crave, at the very least, a second room to get away from each other! Small space (physically) can amplify need for more space emotionally. In our circumstances, we had no choice but to get in tune with when our partner needs space. So we adjust – one of us takes Sitka for a walk, or someone runs to grab groceries, so we can have some temporary physical distance.

Van life had us living in the moment. We share more space and time with one another – a slow, thoughtful conversation over coffee or tea…an oceanside walk, hand-in-hand. We can’t always be doing, and quite frankly, there isn’t that many chores in a van, and we don’t even have time-sucking wifi in our parking space. So we spend more time together.

As small as our “house” is, I wouldn’t change my van-mate for the world! Thank you for putting up with my ever expanding book collection, tea collection, and more recently, yarn collections. Thanks for helping clean up after me, and our shedding dog Sitka. Thank you for all the work you put into making Hobo the van our “home-sweet-home,” and for keeping him/her running (mostly) smoothly. Thank you for being the best dang chauffeur a girl could ever ask for.

Drive on…