So I thought I should devote a little post dedicated to this madness they call Externships. When we first were deciding where to go for externships and it was becoming real for us that we were going to have to move every 3 months for a year and half, I was very worried. I expected it to be the hardest year and a half of my life.
Pro's:
* Because we're living out of our suitcase, its really easy to pack up and go somewhere else for the weekend.
* Every ward we have lived in has been more than welcoming and including.
* I have met SO many wonderful people. It makes me feel a little more positive about this crazy world we live in.
* I still get to spend every day with Kevin. A lot of wives have let their husbands do it on their own, or because they have kids they needed more stability so they live separate from their spouses. I don't think I could do it.
* I have been able to see and do a lot of fun things! It's nice to see different places. It kind of feels like one BIG vacation.
* Cooking hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. I feel like I did a good job packing the things we would need.
Con's:
* We literally just have our Blow up Mattress, two camping chairs, a fold up desk, and a card table. That is the extent of our furniture. Oh...and the Camping Chairs KILL your back if you sit in them too long!
* Sometimes I feel guilty loading the dishwasher because we don't even have enough dishes to really fill it up. (Our last place we had a half size dishwasher though so I didn't have that problem)
* We use our cups/plastic glasses fast so sometimes I drink out of a glass measuring cup.
* I dread loading up our car again for the next trip because I worry that it's going to break down with all the weight we put in. We had horrible car trouble getting here.
* We can't really look forward to Christmas and buy any gifts because we can't afford to pack anything else in our car.
* I'm limited in what I can cook/bake because we also can't afford to buy too many ingredients since we have to leave every three months. We have to use everything up before we leave. It also makes grocery shopping a tad more expensive in the beginning because we have to re-buy everything like mustard, salad dressing,mayo, etc. I usually buy everything in the smallest bottle possible since we have to use it up.
So there you have it. That has been our life. It's a crazy one, but we're surviving! Sometime's I like to daydream of the day we move in a permanent place and I get to open all our boxes of stuff. I miss the little things...I mainly miss my home decor and my BED! We have nothing on our walls or anything like that because its really useless. It's a luxury. I'm pretty sure that once we get all our stuff back it will feel like Christmas! I'm just hoping/praying/fasting that Kevin can get a good job so we don't have to delay living in a place permanently.
Anyway, we have 7 1/2 months left of externships. 1 1/2 months here in Colorado and then we head to San Antonio, TX where we will live with Kevin's brother and his family. We are not sure where we will live in San Jose after that. I'm bracing myself for that externship because that will probably be the hardest one money wise, friend wise, and it will be the last one so I'm sure I will be more than anxious to be done. So there you have it. Life living in a van down by the river!
4 comments:
What an adventure! One of those things that you'll look back on and laugh about all the challenges :)
I envy you are your adventurous marriage. What FUN to have with your hubby. I wish I could set "camp" anywhere! You're awesome.
I can somewhat sympathize with you to a small degree! We had our stuff in storage for only a month and it drove me crazy! I would need something and it was always like "should I spend more money buying this so we can use it now?" or can we wait it out?! can't imagine doing it for all these months!
It was so bizarre seeing you at Stake Conference! Do you want to come over for dinner sometime next week?
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