If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it.

Disappointment comes in so many forms. I knew when we purchased our old school bus Norma, that things were not going to be easy. She is old and rusty, mostly dilapidated, and needs a rather epic amount of love. I had high hopes thinking we would be anywhere near done last summer, or anytime in 2013 for that matter. Then, when the snow came and we still were not finished working on Norma, I let disappointment get the best of me. I hated the thought of packing up to go back to the desert without her. I dreaded the idea of leaving her in the snow for yet another cold winter. Turns out it was quite the doozy of a winter too. Right now, Norma is frozen in almost 4 feet of snow.


So back here in the warm desert, Matt and I have been mentally and literally preparing for our return to Montana to rebuild Norma. Its true, we are going to rebuild her. After a couple thousand more miles of traveling in an old Ford truck with even more animals than before, we decided on a lot more conventional type of design for the bus. When we return, we are going to strip the bus down to the frame, from the doors back and the roof down. Don't worry, we are going to salvage as much as possible. After that we are going to build a wood framed tiny home on top of the frame of the bus. Doing it this way allows us to build a safer, more functional home for our needs. Plus, we don't really want to look like a spectacle rolling down the road. We would like to feel at home everywhere we go, rather than somewhat out of place.

I originally came back to the desert rather distraught this year. I was able to kick that pretty quick with the refreshed ideas about the bus. One thing I have learned since that point, is that even if we did not reach the highest goals that I set for us, we did make progress, and paved the way for this year to be much smoother. We learned a lot last year. We really needed time to absorb and think about this bus in depth, without the convolution of working on her at the same time. This year, I will still set my goals high, I will just break them up into smaller more obtainable tasks. I have faith that this will all work out. I know it wont be easy. If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth it.

In the meantime, I think I'm going to make Norma her very own Facebook page. I might even publicly share the page and see if I can get anyone to read this silly blog. I mean whats the point of writing if I don't let anyone read it?

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