I’ve been married 42 years to Colonel (Ret.) Mark. While he’s large and in charge, and I gladly defer to him throughout our marriage on most any topic sometimes he needs a little guidance from his wife. He happens not only to be a United States Military graduate of West Point, but he also has an annoyingly high I.Q. that is considered genius level. I excel on more of a right-side-of-the-brain level. Having said that, I’m savvy, logical, and a smarty pants in my own right and I’m very comfortable in my skin.

So when I had been asking my husband, literally for decades, for an RV and he kept stubbornly denying my request, I thought my dreams of owning one would never come true.

Then COVID happened. I wasn’t able to get down to Florida to escape the long and often dreary Michigan winters and when we all begin to emerge I was determined.

I told him I wanted to buy property in Florida. He absolutely pushed back on that idea. I rarely dig my heels in on huge purchases during our marriage. It’s a team effort and we both have to be on board. In this case though, I admit, I was not going down without a good fight.

Previously I had inherited a condo in the Tampa area that I really enjoyed as it reminded me of my now passed on beloved mother (it was hers for over 30 years) but it was my place to go to find the sun when it hides away during the Michigan winters.

Mark asked me to sell it as we were not using it enough. I resisted, eventually caved but not without conditions. Plus that area had become too congested with traffic anyway and had wanted to consider another place in Florida. I made him promise he’d consider another property in Florida if we sold. He promised.

So now, two years after that sale, I reminded him of that promise.

You don’t stay married 42 years without compromise. For example, if it were up to my husband, we’d have zero pets. We have two designer cats Beni and Anna and our rescue Yorkie Levi.

I followed him around the country and world, not working outside of the home, setting aside pursuing my dreams during his 32 year Army career. I never pursued my master’s degree, he received four of them. Just as one dream never realized.

But I made that choice for our children. I wanted them, all three passionately, and since he was never home, I knew they needed one parent to be with them. With eyes wide open, I chose to stay home with them and regret absolutely nothing about that decision.

My resolve in this matter was strong and I think he sensed that when after I reminded him of his promise I added, “I’m giving you a choice. Property in Florida or an RV.”

To my shock he said, “Now that I’ll do. We can buy and RV.”

He was a reluctant buyer. He did it for me. However, I am here to say, it’s not only about my enjoyment any longer. Mark is all in once he has seen not only how amazing it is to take your own home with you with a stocked refrigerator when we travel, but as I blogged about before, RV’s aren’t just for camping. In addition, he has studied our Jayco Greyhawk Prestige and everything about it, care, upkeep, repair you name it, like he’s going to RV Mechanics school. He is into it!

There’s the whole tailgating thing. I married into a fanatical football family and truly, it is part of our way of life.

I had always wanted to buy a large generator for emergencies. I looked into the cost of buying and installation for what I wanted and minimum it came to 6-7K.

I know I can buy cheaper, but I wanted it installed like an air conditioner and I did not want it running off of gasoline. I wanted it to be a natural gas generator for long term use if needed.

So when my husband was on a business trip, we had a really terrible storm and the lights went out this past summer. The prediction was four to six hours before repair and the temperature outside was in the 90’s.

So I packed up the dog (the cats love the heat, the hotter the better so they had no problem staying in the house) and moved into our affectionately named “The Blast” and turned on the generator. I sat in cool comfort with electricity until the power was restored hours later.

With the holidays coming up, it’s an extra place for our family to stay for the overflow.

My husband noted (as if it was his idea all along to buy and RV and I smile when he does this) we are no longer confined to just one place to go to when fleeing the Michigan winters. We can chase the sun anywhere with our tiny home on wheels. That includes staying with friends at their home outside their home in our own space where they don’t have to make a bed or prepare any area of their own house. Kind of the perfect guest.

I often go into the RV just as a different place to be creative. It’s just like an extra room not attached to the house (when we’re not storing it). I love being inside our Blast and going into it gives me the feeling of being able to unlock some more of my creative juices sometimes, just to change it up.

If you sell anything, it can be your moving store. I plan to explore many of the art and craft fairs and shows where I will set up like an art gallery and sell my art along with my books.

So our RV is far more than just a camping vehicle.

Not to mention that in today’s market, for the first time I believe ever in the RV industry, when you drive off of the lot after buying, the RV does not necessarily depreciate. In fact, ours appreciated over 35K right after delivery. Given the fact that we have a tremendous supply crisis, RV’s are not pouring onto lots for purchase. Being able to buy a used RV right now can be a cash cow because they get their RV when the deal is done as opposed to having to order and wait four, six or more months having plunked down a large non-refundable deposit.

So when we’re tailgating or we use the RV’s generator in an emergency I just turn to my husband and say, '“You’re welcome.” He gets it and appreciates his feisty Italian wife’s tenacity while enjoying the fruits of my emotional labor.

Until next time: Duty, Honor and Seeing the Country RV Style!