If you are a camper, think about how much time you spend outside relaxing, eating and entertaining. If you like that aspect of a camping weekend, then you have a good idea of what it is like to be a full-timer. Just like at your local weekend campground, there are some outlyers who spend most of their time in the great indoors, however most of us like to be outside, hence the lifestyle.
I have noticed a peculiarity among the full-time community. We tend to socialize outside. I haven’t quite figured it out. Champ and I are quite open people and are not bashful about inviting people inside our little dwelling. I do notice a strange air of hesitance of others to enter and just sit down and relax. I in turn feel the same strange hesitation when I go in someone’s camper. It is quite a peculiar thing. Maybe it is the small space, or perhaps fewer choices of places to sit than in a larger home. Maybe we are so used to being outside that we find ourselves most comfortable there. I can’t put my finger on it, but it does exist. When there is a knock on the door, the natural response seems to be to step outside rather than open the door and say "hey, come on in" When I think about how many people we know I realize many have never been inside, or if they have it’s just been in the doorway. I also have not been in theirs much. It seems to have nothing to do with how we feel about each other, it's just a weird quirk that seems to go with the lifestyle. We do socialize a lot and consider them friends but everything takes place outside. Even movie nights. There are a few people we know well who we spend time with indoors, but it is generally a rare event.
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Our favorite table[/caption]Our patio is a multi-use space on a level not realized in a brick and mortar home and yard. It is a workshop for projects and power tools, an outdoor kitchen, the family room, a dining room more nights than not and of course it is the preferred place to entertain, both for the host and the guests. It is not uncommon to sweep away sawdust, set the table, light a candle and enjoy dinner after a day long project.
Maybe that is why most of don’t notice the compact space we live in. Yes, we get cooped up from time to time in inclement weather, but we don’t mind too much. This evening, like many days, after a day of planting, creating a new yard ornament as a repurposing project (stay tuned in a day or so) we brought out the grill, swept away the dirt from my gardening work today, wiped off the table and enjoyed our dinner while we worked on our spring tan and listened to the music accompanied by the birds.
Until tomorrow…
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