Back in the Van (For Fun This Time)

Guess what? We missed #vanlife so much that we decided to take a trip to Colorado!

Just kidding! 😉

We didn’t miss showering in a storage container or digging through an icy cooler to get breakfast… But we are on our way to Colorado and we did sleep in the van last night.

Only this time we aren’t fleeing some horrible environmental trigger. We actually decided to take this trip because three of my best friends are coming to Colorado on tour with Ballet Magnificat and they happen to be performing in a location that is safe for me.

We drove through Denver last night and spent the night at a Cabela’s parking lot. Today we’re driving the rest of the way. We’ll be staying in a hotel when we get there.

I’m so excited to see them! I will admit that I’m about as nervous as I am excited. I have reason to believe that I’m a lot more resilient than I was when my dear family came to visit but there’s still a small fear at the back of my mind. What if this is a stupid idea? What if I get really sick again? What if the hotel is moldy?

But I’m trying not to dwell on those doubts. I’ve come such a long way in these last six months and I’m continuing to get stronger. When I was really ill, I never could have dreamed of taking a trip just for fun. The only trips I took were trips to see my doctor in D.C. and they were absolutely miserable. I would get a raging headache from being in the sunlight (even with my dark glasses) and have to struggle to keep from vomiting. Sometimes the gagging would become uncontrollable and we had to stop quickly so I could vomit on the side of the road.

We almost always had to take multiple breaks so I could lay down and rest. My dad would take the seats out of the minivan before Brett and my mom and I left on the trips. That way I could lay down in the back, close my eyes and try to rest. Often Brett had to massage my feet because I was in so much pain I couldn’t relax. How I hated those trips!

D.C. was only 6 hours away but it took us two days to get there. Yesterday, it only took us half a day to drive the same distance. It was so easy! Two years ago I couldn’t even have imagined what it felt like to travel in a healthy body.

I was even able to do most of the planning and preparing for the trip. I planned out our meals just like my mom used to do and made sure all the laundry was clean. Then I spent yesterday morning running back and forth from the apartment to the van, packing. It’s hard to believe that not too long ago I couldn’t even remember what it felt like to have an able body and an able mind to keep track of all the details. I just can’t wait to for my friends to see how much better I’m doing!

By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.