By the Never-Bored RVers
“I could never live with him in an XX-foot RV full-time!” We’ve heard that many times as we chat with others about our life roving across North America, and, for the record, I don’t think it’s ever been the husband saying it.
For Monique and me, there is no doubt our compatibility makes being with each other in our confined space easy (most of the time), but here are some suggestions to take into consideration when thinking about life on the road.
When the topic is the things you need in your life, the key word is “STUFF.” When you’re talking about living in an RV, the key word is ‘SPACE.” It makes it do-able if you accept the concept that your mate needs his/her own space.
We don’t hear wives complaining about hubby going out fishing or playing golf too often. Nor do husbands tell us that their wives spend too much time socializing in the campground. It’s probably the same routine basically as when they were living in bricks-and-mortar, just closer quarters when they re together.
In other words, for most couples, living in the confined space of an RV is probably not as grating as it seems to none full-timers.
Our everyday-being-with-each-other-full-time relationship works for us because we abide by our “separation of duties.” We find it hard to believe that some other RV-mates don’t have their own unwritten list of responsibilities, but it’s not unusual to hear neighbors screaming at each other when they are leaving the campground about whose fault it is that some task was left undone.
I asked Monique to write down the tasks for which she is responsible, and I did the same for mine. The fact that one list is shorter than the other doesn’t mean that one of us does less – we both “stay active” in taking care of these routine chores. Another point that has to be made is that these are OUR lists (written down for the first time), not meant to be a guideline for you. I don’t think we ever really assigned tasks to ourselves, it just happened.
MONIQUE’S RESPONSIBILITIES:
Meal planning, cooking and grocery list; cleaning, vacuuming and dusting; laundry; researching and planning our itinerary; en route navigating; keeping track of insurance, including healthcare, and filing our few papers; being the “nurse” and barber for me; waxing and detailing the outside of trailer; control of all cabinets and drawers other than my “office;” interior decorations; guiding me in and out of campsites (reminding me to slow down
BARRY’S RESPONSIBILITIES:
Driving, hooking up the trailer; hooking up w/e/s and satellite TV (or cable where provided); leveling the trailer; checking tires, battery, exterior seals, etc.; installing the living room TV on the arm at each stop; repairs; all “technology;” all computer work, including banking, writing letters and correspondence, blogs and checking out campgrounds online; arranging all trailer bays and truck storage areas; and most important, fixing our latte and toast first thing each morning.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES:
Washing dishes, making the bed and washing the trailer. Being from New Orleans, I was a good cook, but sometime early in our marriage I forgot how, so not only does she do the cooking (and we eat almost all of our meal on board), but I’m restricted on which kitchen drawers and cabinets I can look in. She ends up doing most dishwashing when we’re dry camping, because I’m too water-wasteful.
We try to take advantage of the wonderful world around us wherever we go, enjoying both the journey and the destination. But inside the RV, the most important element is living in harmony. It makes the roads in this on-the-move life much smoother.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
P.S. We borrowed the Smartcar from a neighbor while in Key West last winter just for the photo op.