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Now on to this week’s musings…
This is not the letter I started writing to you last week. That one will have to wait. Something amazing has happened and must be shared immediately. After all, I have been waiting years to be able to share these words.
I have driven my van.
More than once in fact.
At long last my van is no longer forced into an unnatural stationary state.
She moves. I can move her.
This has been a long time coming. When I first had the idea for the van conversion, what my mother calls my Van Plan, I couldn’t drive. I bought the van and started building before I’d learnt. This entire thing has been a leap of faith. Faith that I would learn, faith I would pass my test, and above all, faith that I would enjoy driving. You can’t go on epic van road trips if you don’t like driving.
I had to hold onto that faith for a long time. My first driving instructor was awful and took thousands from me while teaching me nothing except to be afraid. Thankfully I eventually found Helen and Sox, who are absolutely brilliant, and they taught me to drive.
(Yes Sox is a dog, and yes he helped me learn to drive.)
I passed my test last summer only to be forced to continue waiting.
I needed drivers’ insurance and couldn’t get any. But earlier this summer I finally convinced a broker to help me find insurance I could afford. Then I messaged Helen for her help. She and Sox came out in the van with me for a different sort of lesson. Not how to drive, but how to understand and negotiate a vehicle of this size.
After my lesson with Helen and Sox came an afternoon with Kim and Gem. Down to the beach, to spectacular views and a perfect swim, all courtesy of my van. My faith has been rewarded. I am completely in love and flooded by the joy I feel sitting in the driver’s seat of my own vehicle, home, studio, adventure.
A fire has been lit and it is burning stronger every day. I am still short the money I need for the gas system that will power my heating, hot water, and oven but I don’t care. I will continue to hold onto the faith that has got me this far and hope that the money I need will come. But in the meantime, I am planning Van Adventures, heating or no heating!
It is time.
More soon. I have a half written letter waiting for you.
So good.
With a van you ——
You can.
You can do anything.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventures xx
Congratulations! Sometimes the best things take a while to come to fruition. … and now…