You may have noticed that we’ve been incommunicado for the last several months! A couple weeks into the van build, we realized that as much as we wanted to document our van building journey, we also very much desperately wanted to be done with the van so that we could start our adventure, or, more accurately, just hit the road! While it’s fun to write and take pictures and video, it’s also very time consuming. Every day, we were too exhausted by the day’s work to put in another several hours at the computer. So, we made the decision to focus on the build and to hopefully document our build with 20/20 vision to post on the blog later.
In the beginning, as I grew increasingly concerned about our slow (or sometimes lack of) progress, the conversation would often be:
Me: We just need to finish this so that we can start our adventure!
Jon: Honey, the van build is our adventure.
Me: Ughhh (roll my eyes)
As the build went on though, we crawled through some difficult days. The “this is our adventure” sentiment waxed and waned, depending on to whom you talked.
About halfway through month two, I was getting into the routine and began to enjoy my daily 10-12 hour shifts at MakerPlace, the amazing workshop where we were doing our van build. Jon, however, was in charge of the much more technically challenging tasks, like the electric set-up, and this understandably created a lot of mental and emotional stress. In those times, it was then up to me to remind him of our “adventure.”
Likewise, if I’d had a less than productive day (to my standards), Jon would remind me that not every day was going to fulfill my expectations. We had many moments like these; if either of us was down or disappointed with the day’s progress, the other would step in to give some context.
The truth is, yes, our build took three months, definitely exceeding the “scheduled” build time of one month. And yes, our work was far from the perfection you see on some of the amazing YouTube van builds out there. But, we were two desk jockeys, a Certified Public Accountant and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional, who decided to take a break from the everyday, pick up a drill and a solder gun, and build our own home on wheels. At 36 and 31 years old, we each picked up an entirely new skillset. We got to work at MakerPlace, a community of builders, artisans and DIYers with the tools, skills and kindness to advise, encourage and help us. This was our context, our story of why what we’re doing is still amazing and worth it, regardless of how the van looks in the end or what mistakes we made in the process of building it.
The moral of the story is that an ambitious, challenging and exhausting van build can put you through a rollercoaster of emotions. Keep your context, your story of why what you’re doing is amazing, available to you when you are most disappointed, stressed or sleep-deprived. It can be in the form of a good friend or partner, a sticky note on your wall, or a daily meditation.
Or, donuts and beer, if you’re this guy…
Are you getting ready to start your van build? How do you feel now? Or, have you finished your van build? What helped you through it? We’d love to hear from you – please share in the comments below!
