John has been covering the fun adventure side of our trip so far, which is great because he’s good at that. His sense of humor, which I do not always understand, has a way of adding life to things that others may not be able to see otherwise.

Me on the other hand, I can focus on serious details, and though I’ve managed to include humor in writings or presentations, I’m generally more dry in my conversation.

These qualities tend to even each other out, though it can also be confusing and complicated at times. Believe me, we’ve had our misunderstandings about when each of us has been joking or serious.

Previously we had lots of space to deal with these misunderstandings. I could go downstairs or he could go to the garage if we each really needed some time to figure out what just happened. Now, we can’t get away from each other. If any of us (kids included) are having a “moment” we end up stuck staring at each other either in the camper or in the car. The silence is killer!

Now, I’m not trying to air dirty laundry or deter anyone from considering this type of adventure, but man it has got its challenges and you should be fully aware of what they may be.

In addition to misunderstandings, there’s other space issues. Like, I hurt my shoulder and can’t sleep in our bed right now because I just can’t get comfortable. Everyone’s been great about helping me out and allowing me to not do tasks that could aggravate it, but me sleeping in the living room recliner means that they have that much less space to roam about if they get up early or can’t sleep. In our house, you could go in the kitchen and get coffee without bugging anyone on the couch. Here you have to go into the same space as the sitting area to make coffee. Guess RV manufacturers invented great rooms, I’m starting to think they aren’t so great.

It’s also a magic act figuring out the timing of showers, changing clothes for bed or to go to the pool, and making something to eat. We almost have a production line around the island at dinner so no one is stepping on anyone else. And Alex and Addy have managed to figure out how to coordinate one of them getting dressed in the bathroom, while the other gets dressed in their bedroom. I will say the upgraded water heater has made a world of difference when it comes to showers, though we still can only take one at a time.

Obviously, we have the outdoors that we can branch out into. In fact, when we have needed to have a serious talk, we’ve managed to kick the kids out and had them take the dog for a walk or go play at a playground. We have also individually taken the kids to do something while the other does whatever they need to do with less distractions. So it’s not like we are completely trapped. We have seen some beautiful spots and enjoyed time together so far and the good has certainly outweighed the awkward silence moments.

All of these challenges and complications are just making us learn to actually interact, or interact differently than we did in the past. It’s like taking that crucial (uncomfortable) conversations course at work. You have to have the uncomfortable conversation in order to come to a place of understanding, right?