the idea (of extended trips) is spooking her. Our kids are spread all over the US and we do travel to visit often. I want to see the West before I'm too damn old to do it in a RV.
Joe Bee,
Here's another female perspective. I can't imagine life without an RV. That said, I've always loved traveling and extended trips are wonderful, but fulltiming is not my cup of tea (unlike some of the other Forum ladies). Having grown up in the Army when we moved constantly, I like to have a place to come home to and this works for us. We've had RVs constantly since 1972 so always had it for trips, but one year we were so busy with work that it sat in the driveway for 13 months. While working we were able to take a couple of six week trips to Alaska and elsewhere. After retiring in 2000 we take more and longer trips. This summer we were gone almost five months so we could really "see" Newfoundland which we enjoyed on a shorter trip ten years ago. During this five month trip we also attended our annual RV Forum rally in Moab, unexpectedly encountered both the Dobrins and Ruwards in Michigan, visited the Dicks and Parks in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, visited Jerry's family in Virginia and mine in South Carolina, attended my 50th high school reunion in Pennsylvania, and stopped by the factory for service on the way home. It's just amazing how fast those five months went by! We love having our motorhome with us when visiting friends and family because we have our own bed and breakfast
and can "escape" to the comfort of our own home on wheels if the need arises, we don't have to pack or unpack suitcases, nor do we have the hassles of airports. We just take our time and go where the spirit moves us.
We too loved our work and our friends used to tease us because Jerry kept saying "One of these days I'm going to retire" but we just kept on working. Eventually we decided we didn't want to do it anymore and gradually phased out (easy because we had our own business). When you have a major illness or accident you suddenly realize that our time on earth is limited and we should make the most of it. We really enjoyed our work, but now we really like to see how other people live, visit museums, hike, and the like, so RVing affords us those opportunities.
Realistically, doctors have patients who need them and your wife probably feels she would be "abandoning" these people she wants to help. It makes her feel good and needed. Nothing on earth will make her want to give this up until she's ready to do it and forcing the issue will only cause resentment. You have to ask yourself if your wife really enjoys traveling when you take trips. If the answer is no, then she probably won't enjoy RVing either. On the other hand, if the answer is yes, then she may find she likes it a lot more than she thinks she will. For extended trips you need an RV that is comfortable and meets both your needs. For example, we're both computer people and there has to be accomodation for both our computers. Some of the Forum ladies like to quilt and need their space for that or similar crafts. Does your wife have something she really enjoys outside of work and can this be something in which the RV might be employed? What is it about extended trips that is spooking her? If it's leaving her patients, then you might not be able to get around that, but if it's something about the RV itself then that issue can be addressed. I believe a lot of women don't like RVing because it was the husband who selected the RV in the first place and they don't feel they had much input about it. In other words, it's "his" not "ours" and the wife just goes along for the ride because she doesn't want to spoil his dream. Hopefully this is not your situation. Does your wife drive your RV? If not, she may not feel like she's truly participating in the RVing experience. We're lucky because we've both always had equal say in the RV we purchase and we both love driving it, so it truly is "our" RV. Perhaps you could convince your wife to take a sabbatical during which you could take an extended trip so she can see what it's all about. This approach would allow her to return to work if she finds she really needs to do it for her own psyche. That would be a shame, but at least you will have tried and, who knows, she might find she loves RVing after all. We have wonderful "framily" in this forum and are lucky that we have good friends in both fun times and crisis times. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Good luck!
ArdraF
