8/16/2021

To My Grandkids,

     Alright Alright, it's been a long time coming.
     Rosie is... ALIVE!!!

   2 Months ago, as you may remember, I had a head on smack down between the van and a deer... and the deer won- no questions asked. The van has been sitting in the shop parking lot all this time (in MT), and now that we live in Oregon, we haven't been able to do anything about it. The shop made it fairly clear that no progress was coming for the van anytime soon- so we hopped on the road to take the situation in our own hands. 
     When it comes to car knowledge... I don't have much. I can do some basic maintenance things myself; changing my oil, tires, brakes, spark plugs, etc... But trying to fix a head on shmack... It seemed pretty intimidating. As soon as Elliot and I got back to Montana we got the van on a tow truck to be sent to the house, and we headed to the junk yard to get Rosies organs. It was a bit of an adventure to get the parts, because the junk yard was wayy bigger than we thought. The owner loaded us on his four wheeler and took us for a ride through this massive vehicle graveyard, all the way to the back where there was a random blue Dodge Ram- Rosies organ donor.
It took us a couple hours to grab the parts (duh- we didn't know what we were getting into at all.) before we loaded everything back up on the four wheeler and called it a day.
    Then comes the fun part.. Now we're shoulders deep in MY van learning as we go.. This screw doesn't fit there.. This piece got hit too.. Grab the duct tape.. This  thing doesn't fit anywhere.. What even is that..? Time to hook up the chain and pull the frame back into shape... Where is that leak coming from? Where's my BFH? Oh god that doesn't sound right... And so on.. Lots of figuring it out as we go, and a LOT of questions (thanks for answering my calls every 7 minutes dad..). It was a giant puzzle, and the reward is our house on wheels- no pressure at all! After 2 full days, it was time to turn the key.. Which was surprisingly the hardest part because I kinda expected the thing to blow up. LUCKILY, it didn't blow up... Damn we actually did that.. DAMN WE ACTUALLY DID THAT! We just fixed the van, our home, my safe place, my lovely adventure vessel- BACK TO LIFE!
     
     Something I've learned in my short amount of time on this Earth is that often the WORST things that happen to me end up being the BEST down the road.. 2 years ago I hit my rock bottom, the all time lowest I've ever experienced. Looking back now that moment caused me to take control of my life and GO AFTER my dreams, chasing true happiness. Now, although my sad wrecked van shot a hole through my heart, and a huge dent in our plans- it caused us to go off the path and have the best experiences we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. We have met some of the coolest people out there, and shared some amazing memories at the farm so far. It has also lead to potential travel plans in a couple weeks when we leave the farm- overall so many opportunities we would've missed if the van didn't wreck.
   Some things just don't make sense. We throw our hands up in the air with the overwhelming wonder of WHY these things are possibly happening. WHY in the world can I not catch a break? WHY ME?
And there is no answer. There is no WHY. There is no definitive way of knowing- until years later and you look back and see where It took you as a result. Sometimes there will never be an answer.
And sometimes... it leads to the best moments of your life.

Give thanks through the storm, because even if all you see is the thunder and lightening,  that same storm is raining LIFE on the flowers, the gardens, the trees.
Yin Yang- there must be a balance.

Love always, 
Your barefoot van livin, beach running, mountain climbing, Nana J :)

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