MultiTalented Writers
For the last nine months, our family has been living in an RV—less than 400 square feet for five people to share. Living in an RV was the most convenient way for us to go on our family adventure travel year. It meant we could have our house with us wherever we went. We could drive, cook, shower, teach our homeschooling lessons, and even watch movies, all in the same vehicle.
Continue reading “Living in an RV with Kids: What It’s Really Like”
As we cross the Canadian border after nine months of travel, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, seeing the Canadian flag makes my heart happy. This is the country I chose, the one that welcomed me with an open arms, the country that I have long felt to be the place where I belong, despite the dreadful winters and long months of bitter cold misery. I love this place with all my heart.
We stayed at Indiana Dunes State Park for G-boy’s birthday, and committed not to drive too far on his special day, which we started by opening gifts. The girls got to open a small gift also. They were happy that one of G-boy’s birthday gifts was Lego, because in our house, Lego is a shared toy, so if one of the kids gets it, they know they’ll all get to play with it regularly.
I went to Six Flags Great America a total of three times in the four years I lived in Chicago. After immigrating to Canada in 2000, I never thought I’d return to this park. But traveller souls have a way of always coming back to places they never thought they’d see again.
As I walk through Millennium Park, I’m reminded that when I lived here, none of this existed. But when I look up, I recognize the skyline. The building with the pyramid top, the one whose top looks like a diamond, the Sears Tower (sorry, Willis Tower).
When I first arrived in Chicago in 1997, I knew exactly three phrases in English:
“Hi, how are you?”
“My name is Mariana”
“I don’t speak English.”
When I was a teenager, I didn’t get out much. I had to work to help at home, and as such, I moved between my house, school, work, a couple of after-school activities, and not much else. But there were some cool outings once in a while. One of these outings from my teenage years that I’ll never forget was a field trip to Hannibal, Missouri, where the high school juniors got to see Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home and Museum (and more).
She asks us to come see the beautiful house they’ve just created, and when we come outside, a lovely fairy house awaits.
![It’s the end of the [trip] as we know it](http://www.marianamcdougall.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cominghome_1_original.jpg)
