NOT ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE

We've been MIA for a hot minute. That's because real life doesn't stop once "vanlife" begins.

This past Fall we booked it back to Florida. My dad was scheduled to have knee replacement surgery in November. I promised him that if he got it done, that I would come take care of him. My mom wasn't in the best of health so I knew if my dad was going to get his knee down, I needed to be there.

Well, a couple of days after we rolled into to Florida, my mom died. I truly thought we had more time. She and I were making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas just weeks prior. I knew in my heart that this would be my last holidays with her. I didn't know that I wouldn't see them at all.

If you've lost a parent or loved one you know all the logistics of what goes into the days and weeks after. We rescheduled my dad's knee surgery and tried to get affairs in order. My mom's funeral was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to other heart-wrenching events going on within our family. So, the focus went back to my dad and getting his knee fixed.

He did great. And about 2 weeks after his surgery he got what we thought was a stomach bug. No worries, 24 hrs later he felt fine and got back to his PT and getting back to walking. Then, the Wednesday before Christmas he got sick again, and asked to go to the hospital. Off we go. I think "great, we're gonna sit here for hours to be told he has a stomach bug and be sent home." I was annoyed to say the least, but there we sat in this cesspool of sickness. They took my dad from the waiting room to get a CT. Moments after that we get wheeled to a room and a neurologist comes in and says his tumor is bleeding. WHAT TUMOR? HIS BRAIN IS BLEEDING?

LORD!!!!! Come on! I just lost my mom. I contacted my brother and sister and filled them in... They began praying. My aunts...they began praying. Within a couple of hours, my dad is taken to the ICU for monitoring and an MRI the next day.

So needless to say, Christmas was nonexistent, and we just waited for treatment.

He was sent home, but we made a couple more trips to the ER due to symptoms. In the end, the tumor was benign, and was treated with radiation. He is doing well and learning to live on his own without the help of my mom. Let's be real...my mom did everything, so homey is learning how to cook and clean at 77 yo. He's doing it though. My brother lives nearby and is now checking in on him. He still works, has an amazing Bible Study group, and goes to church.

Needless to say,

what should have been a quick trip home, wasn't. Like with my mom...helping her the last 5 yrs has been the biggest honor. My mom and I got really close those years. I am also grateful to have been able to take care of my dad. But I'm not gonna lie, he was hard. But it's the most time I've ever spent with him my entire life. No regrets!

Other members of my family were suffering loss as well. Which made this such a hard season to navigate as a family. Just so much in such a short time.

Ray and I are back on the road, and we're back at trying to live the best life

we can...knowing that we aren't promised tomorrow. Even though this is an amazing opportunity. To be able to travel fulltime is quite the blessing. But life still goes on and tragedies still happen. I am grateful to be able to be there for our families when they need some extra help.