No one ever complains in business about over-communication.  Ok, we might complain about including too many people on an email, but most of us learn how to weed through those emails pretty quickly.  Problems almost always come from under-communication.  Imagine two captains of a boat under-communicating.  If each captain was steering the boat in opposite directions, that boat might never go anywhere!  Marriage is like having two captains of a ship.  And while they might agree on the final destination and even get there eventually, it’s smoother sailing if they communicate the course.

Periodically, Brian and I check in with each other about how things are going in our lives.  Yes, we talk every day, but talking about what’s going on with his work or what we want to do on Saturday isn’t what I mean by checking in with each other.  It’s deeper than that.  Just because I’m happy doesn’t mean he’s happy and vice versa.  With such a big change in lifestyle this past year, it seems that we have these discussions more frequently. 

Over these past seven-ish months, I’ve learned a lot about Brian and myself.  In regards to our travels, I’ve learned:

• Travel fatigue is a real thing.   Before setting out on our journey, we watched many You-Tubers and read blogs suggesting that new full-timers moved too fast and got very tired.  When we agreed to live this lifestyle, we agreed that we would try to go a little slower and spend more time in each location.  A slower pace also allows us to take advantage of weekly or monthly discounts offered by RV parks. 
• We don’t have to do everything there is to do in an area.  It’s tempting to over plan and pack in all that an area has to offer.  I admit that I suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).  In these moments, I try to remind myself that this is not a one-time chance to be in the area, but a long-term lifestyle choice.  We can return to an area if we like it or have other things that we want to do there.  Finding balance in our lives is more important than seeing it all.
• Saturday travel works best for Brian.  Taking Saturday for travel allows for an easy day before returning to work on Monday.  It also ensures plenty of time to get our internet connection working smoothly.  And since Brian’s work requires a solid connection, it allows time for us to relocate our rig if the connection is impossible.
• We miss socializing with friends and family.  And we expected meeting people would be a little easier than it has been.  We’ve found that meeting like-minded people on the road requires additional efforts.  We must take time to introduce ourselves to others, accept invitations to happy hours, and schedule dinners with people we meet through social media.   Without this, our lives would be too insular for our taste.

Most importantly, we’ve deepened our understanding of each other’s needs and have communicated our own needs with each other.  While I know I lived my life much differently before marrying Brian, I can’t imagine living any other way now.  Together, we’ve plotted a course for the coming months that looks like it will work for us.  If we begin to get off-course, we can always check-in with each other and change it.  In fact, as in the change of watch on a boat, we continue to communicate along the way.