5 years ago I missed my family – I felt detached, came home late from work, and felt cheated of my kid’s childhood.
Are you ever tired of going to work? I know I was. I was tired of going to work – But actually not tired of my work.
The work was terrific – Great challenges and very meaningful. I had wonderful colleagues, good benefits, and great flexibility – and hey – even the lunch was fabulous. So what’s not to like?
But … Still, I wasn’t super happy – I missed my family. It felt wrong to wake up in the morning and drive away from the people I love and come home late and ask, “How was your day?” instead of being there and being part of my children’s childhood.
I felt removed from my family. I didn’t feel connected enough with my children. We talked about stepping out of the hamster wheel. To travel. To be together full time.
My wife was at home full-time, taking care of our three youngest kids. They are homeschooled/unschooled, and as our oldest daughter was getting ready to leave the nest, I was the only reason we stayed put.
But I was so super-afraid of taking the step because of the little thing called money. I got stressed out every time Cecilie talked about us going full-time traveling. The stress and fear of not being able to provide for my family were gnawing at me. I remember getting angry and shouting, “Then you go and make money so that I can stay at home” – but the reality is – I love to work. I love creating projects and do not have a goal of not working – so a switch in roles wasn’t really an option. Neither of us would have been happy.
But I missed my family more and more, and the dream kept growing.
Our vacation started to get longer and longer, and we took weekend trips in a converted Fiat Ducato – We tried to make the most of it – but it wasn’t enough.
So we decided to do it. Go for the dream. I couldn’t do it from day to day – I was afraid I couldn’t provide for my family – so we set a date and decided that I in three years should build up an income as a freelancer while keeping my full-time job.
In reality, I went from missing my children to missing them even more – I spend evenings and mornings working.
It was hard. Sometimes it felt meaningless – but the dream was there and was strong enough to help me carry the weight of the extra hours.
Was it worth it? Yes. Without a doubt.
We are now together 24/7, and I love it. We have now been traveling full time for more than 2,5 years.
Most of the time we spend on the same 20 sqm. For me, this is heaven on earth.
I still work and am involved in a lot of projects. Now, when I work, I can sit in the sun, outside our bus, and listen to our kids talk. My breaks are no longer with colleagues but with my wife and kids.
I am so super grateful for the life we created.
May the sun shine on you.
Jesper Conrad
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