Today mark’s the 1/2 year anniversary of our trip.  And though it has been a thrilling adventure filled with travel, history and culture, the last two month have begun to feel “normal”.  Let me explain.  The first 4 months of our trip were none stop exploration and movement, where were stay in one place, at the most, for 4 days- then moving on to the next destination.  In these first 4 months we drove 11,000 miles.  In contract we have driven 2,500 mile in the last two months.  That’s more than twice as much driving comparing the first two-thirds of our trip to the last one-third.  Maybe it has felt more “normal” because we have stayed in the same state for two month (Florida).  We have parked our RV in one place for two week at a time twice and once for one week. (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando & the Everglades, respectively).  We have established friendships with several RVing families, two of which we now stay in contact with and seek each other’s company when we are traveling.  The pace of life feels “normal”.  Everyday events of life are happening.  Little things.  Lydia getting glasses for her eyes as she grows up, playing board games as a family, Eva counting the days down until her birthday (1 day left!!!).

Little things like eating beef stew, being silly and being “the Millers”.

Little things like Mel and I taking time away for ourselves.

Mel to Guatemala with World Vision,

and me to California to spend time with my close friend Bruce.

It is funny how such a “big” thing like an RV trip across the country can become to feel like a “normal” kind of a thing.  I suppose that normal is simply “that which we are conditioned to.”  If this is true than I can say that we are now conditioned to living in a motor home.  We are conditioned to living in a home away from home.  We are conditioned to making new friends everywhere we go and are conditioned to living like nomads.

And though these feeling of normality may change as we begin more ambitiously to travel again in February (New Orleans & Texas), I believe we have now been conditioned by this trip.

With all this said, it seems to me, that life’s secrets are unlock in this simple, well know truth- “Find joy in the little things.”  “Little things” like playing with legos, going on bike rides, reading as a family, and making a new friend.  I have traveled 13,500 miles, from corner to corner to corner across our country, just to be reminded, once again, of the famous word of T.S. Eliot:

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”