People who live in campers are just like everyone else except, well they live in a home on wheels. Whether or not you travel around in your camper or stay put, you know that things in a camper are just different than living in an actual brick and mortar home. You also know that “weekenders” won’t get all of your problems. They are just hanging out having fun. This is your every day life, the good, the bad, the ugly, the freaking awesome!  Here are 10 things only people who have lived in a camper will understand.

1. You can’t heat your leftovers in the microwave AND run your air conditioner. So come August you have to make the choice between warm food or under boob sweat. We eat a lot of sandwiches around here.
2. The awkward moment of having to explain that your residence is in fact a towable recreational vehicle. That feeling of wondering if this person is going to think that you’re totally awesome and want to know every detail about it or if you’re about to get “the look” and be discredited as a total nut job. Followed by a not so well meaning “bless your heart”.
3. Having to get over your childhood fear that the boogie man is going to snatch you away into the abyss if you sleep with your feet hanging off the bed, because your feet are always hanging off the short queen mattress. Maybe if you’re lucky and under 5’5” you can escape his grasp, anything over that it’s either hitting your head on the headboard or your feet hang off. 
4. Summer showers are something you pine for all winter long. The hot water heater despises your very being in the winter and NEVER stays warm long enough. When the temperature outside heats up, so does that water coming in and it is AMAZING! You are a brand new happy person because you can now wash your hair AND body in the same shower!
5. The noise of the awning flapping around in the middle of the night because you might have been too tipsy before bed and forgot to roll it in and now there’s a storm a – brewing. The sheer panic that throws you out of bed to pull that thing back in can only be related to the noise of a dog gagging on the bed. The panic level is about the same. The price tag if you don’t make it to that awning is MUCH more hefty than cleaning up the dog vomit. 
6. Speaking of being tipsy, the feeling that you should have a drink in your hand 24/7 because after all your life is basically camping. This urge is extremely real. You have to have daily talks with yourself about how it’s not appropriate to drink White Claws at 10:00AM on a Tuesday (because you’re quarantined duh). That is border line alcoholism and you do have to work even if it’s from your camper. PUT THE WHITE CLAW BACK KAREN!
7. Back to the air conditioner issue. Constantly YELLING over it all day long (because we live in South Carolina and by April A/C is a necessity). It’s like a fighter jet is constantly flying inches above your head at all times. You cannot hear the person from the pull out couch if you are sitting in the dinette unless they are using their football stadium outside voice.
8. Things hanging EVERYWHERE! Ya’ll I am not the queen of organization by any means, but in our houses there has always been a place for everything. A place out of the way and not seen. You know like closets, drawers, utility rooms, basements, you get my point. Not in the camper. This space doesn’t exist. It is unheard of. Your sh*t is everywhere. Just hanging around. On hooks, on over the door organizers, on shoe racks that hang over the door. Every time you shut a door you hear thunk-thunk of whatever organizer you just swung into oblivion. It really annoys my soul if you couldn’t tell.
9. You are responsible for hand washing every single dish you use. Please just know I am all too aware of how first world problem-y this sounds. Also know that Ethan and I both grew up in houses with no dish washers. When we moved into our first apartment and it had a 1980s model that barely washed things and was louder than the disposal, it was like a Christmas miracle. I said I would never again go back to wasting ALL THAT TIME hand washing dishes. But alas, here we are. 
10. The lessons you learn, the patience you gain, the love you share that grows stronger through all the ups and downs are so worth all the annoyances. Living in our camper has taught us both so much about all the things we think we “need” and shown us what is truly important. People. Your family. Your friends. Your circle. 

As Americans we often feel that we NEED all these modern day conveniences, but in reality so much of the world lives without those things. We are so truly blessed. And when you slow down, minimize your “things”, and take time to focus on your relationships life gets so much sweeter.