Pack Your Bags!

Did I mention my parents are giving us their RV? I'm stunned. They bought this 35' RV in 1987 for boatloads of money. It's a nice RV and they've taken good care of it. When they were building their new house in Arkansas, they lived in it for six months. When their house burned down, it was the only thing besides the van that they were able to save. It's been sitting down at a neighbors' house since the fire last January.

On Sunday, Hubby and YS (youngest son) went to retrieve it. They took lots and lots of tools (they're farmer/mechanics - by God they have tools!). My parents were pretty sure it was going to need some TLC before it would even be able to be driven home.

On the day before they left, Hubby called them to see about logistics (i.e. where's the key, who are the neighbors, etc.). While talking to my parents he was speechless to hear them say they had talked about this and decided to give us the RV. Huh? It was only a few years ago that Hubby was reluctant to even ask them to borrow it to go to a race. We've never gotten the nerve to ask. Until a few months ago. We volunteered to go the 9-hour-drive-from-hell-without-stopping drive to get it. We also volunteered to store it on our farm, as we had the room...oh, and by-the-way could we borrow it to go to a three-day race in a couple of months?

Now they've switched direction 180 degrees. They've decided they aren't going to camp anymore, but will probably just stay in motels if they go somewhere. They're just going to give it to us.

Hubby is having a hard time getting his mind wrapped around this. He's beginning to wonder if they really meant it, or if they'd been drinking at the time*. He's afraid this was all some big elaborate joke and they aren't really giving it to us so much as just letting us take over the insurance and the repair costs and the storage, then borrow it when they want to.

In the meantime, they are coming up on Friday to show us how to do some things with it - like filling/emptying the water tanks, learning about the generators, etc. Hubby's been working on the mechanical stuff - alternator, belts, so forth. After that it gets turned over to me for 'interior' work and the job of 'stocking' for the trip. I've camped before, Hubby hasn't for years and years since he was a kid. I'm not fooled. He's thinking this is going to be fun. This is going to be work.

Cross your fingers!

*My parents are not 'official' alcoholics, however I'm convinced they are 'non-official' alcoholics. Anyone who starts drinking before 9 a.m. most days and can't eat supper because they are too sloshed and just want to sleep many nights, in my mind have a problem. Weirdly, they have both been able to stop at various times in their lives. I think they make up for it in the other times of their lives. I don't believe this is social drinking if you are doing it only with your spouse. My parents are not 'nice' drunks. I do not advocate not drinking as for most people this is a perfectly normal activity with no repercussions. I drink occasionally myself. This is the end of today's lecture.