On a Serious Note
Nobody is immune to life changes and stressors. Yeah, I realize that I am not telling you anything that you didn’t already know, but when you simply look through the lens of social media and its unique filters, it is easy to convince ourselves that the family in the pictures must have a great life.
I mean look at their well behaved children, that delicious made from scratch meal they just prepared, and those gorgeous family vacation pictures they just posted. We take our daily scroll through instagram, facebook, twitter and others and it appears that the people in the pictures are having the time of their lives and that they must be so lucky. Sometimes we forget that this is but one snapshot in time and that they, like you, have the ups and downs of life too.
Recently, our family had a bit of a shake up to our everyday rollercoaster of life, as we know it. I have struggled for the past two months on whether to share this on the blog. However, we have had so many people reach out to us with concern for what was happening with our family and why we have not been RVing as much lately. To everyone who has sent us messages of concern and encouragement, I want to personally say thank you! It has really meant the world to us and has kept us encouraged during this time of change.
If you have been a long time follower of our social media accounts, you will know that we love to spend our Christmas breaks in Orlando, Florida. Our gift to our family is to take a relaxing trip to Orlando and enjoy the heck out of Disney World. This has been our tradition for the past three years and counting.
Well, this year we were faced with the reality that my grandmother could no longer live on her own in New Jersey. So we cut our trip short and headed back to our sticks and bricks home in Georgia to plan for grandma’s relocation to our home.
My hubby is my rock and he proved to be that and more as we traveled to New Jersey. Now under normal circumstances we would have taken our time and over the course of a month or two prepared my 97 year old grandmother for this life changing move. However, for reasons that I will not share a slow move was no longer an option. In less than a week, we packed up her entire condo, hired a mover and brought her home with us.
Needless to say it has not been easy caring for three boys under the age of 10 yrs old and managing the needs of my grandmother. It has been over two months since she has been in Georgia and we are still trying to get our footing. One of the biggest things that we miss is our ability to pack up and hit the road. I think our boys are really the ones that are affected by all of these changes because our time is split between them and grandma.
On a positive note, this has been such a wonderful opportunity to spend valuable time with my beautiful grandmother and my boys are able to really get to know their great-grandmother. What a life lesson that my boys are learning about family and how we should always take care of and honor our elders.
This has been a rough transition because it has really put a strain on our time, however it has also made us realize how valuable our time is.
Every moment that we are able to make new memories with my grandmother is priceless. Time is fleeting, so please make the time to spend now with your loved ones.
Tia Sims of CFO of Soulful RV Family, A Wife, Mother, Daughter and Granddaughter
Howdy! I “happened” upon your blog today when searching for tips on visiting Disney by RV. Our family is brand new to RVing, so I don’t have much to add, except a little bit of encouragement. It’s so wonderful to see that your family is taking care of their family. Our elders do not get enough care and I applaud your effort to give your grandmother the life she deserves. Good luck with the changes, and God bless.
P.S. I’m excited to read the rest of your blog for tips, trips, and more. Thank you for sharing your family!
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement! We wish you safe travels. Disney and RVing are two of our favorite things! Let us know if we can help with tips on your Disney vacay. Hit us up on Facebook or instagram with questions.
My continued prayers for you and your family. All things happen for a reason, no matter how tough or how long the struggle. My family dealt with a similar situation several years back and even though my mother-N-law is no longer with us. In my heart, I know we made the right decision. This is just one step in the adventure of life..
I am very encouraged by your message and we continue to press on. We love her dearly! Our love keeps us going.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m glad you have the time and resources to have your grandma with you. What a blessing for your kids. Prayers because I know it’s not easy.
Thank you! ❤️ Yes, our kids are loving having their great grandmother closer.
This is a beautiful gift for your grandmother and for your boys. ❤️
Thank you so much! We all have certainly grown through this experience.
Hey there, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, terrific blog!
thanks ill take a look at it..
You know what… you are teaching your family that people are the most important. And that we take care of our family above all else. I’ll be praying for you all as you transition into your new norm. We love that you share your life with us — with all the bumps and detours! It makes us love you even more!