Life Changes

In the spring of 2011, we drove down to Auburn, AL with our oldest son William to visit Auburn University. He liked Auburn University and decided this was where he would pursue a engineering degree.  Although Pattie and I both graduated from Auburn, we did not pressure him to go there (I don’t think we did anyway).  For housing, we decided to buy a mobile home and rent a space in a park dedicated for students.  In 2014, his brother Chris also decided Auburn University was the place for him to pursue a degree in Fine Arts.  They lived together in the mobile home at Auburn until this past week

Pattie and I began full-time RVing in the summer of 2015 and used the mobile home in Auburn, AL as our legal address after we sold our home in Maryland.  Our mail came there and the boys would forward it to us as needed. We traveled back to Auburn several times a year to visit them and do maintenance on the mobile home.  It had become familiar.  We attended a local church, had our favorite restaurants, and occasionally reminisced about our time on campus.  Suddenly, this has all changed.

Auburn Mobile Home Served Its Purpose

William graduated and got a job in Columbus, GA so we moved him to an apartment in Phenix City, AL. Chris has been selected for a one-year apprenticeship with a theatre company in Atlanta, GA and will finish his degree on-line.  We spent the last several weeks moving furniture in several different directions, selling off unneeded items, and preparing the mobile home to sell. Fortunately, it was the perfect time to sell property in Auburn as there is a housing shortage and buyers are scrambling to find a place for the 2018 Fall Semester.  The mobile home sold in one day without any advertising.  

It seems like just the other day they loaded their cars and headed to college.

While all these events are blessings, it is a bit sad to realize that our sons are truly stepping out completely on their own. The pseudo home in Auburn will no longer be there for us to worry over.  Our familiar stop over in Auburn will no longer be necessary.  The lack of bills associated with keeping two sons in college will be welcome.  Then there is the decision about a legal address or domicile.

We decided to use William’s address in Alabama to prevent a lot of changes in licenses, tags, voting, taxes, etc.  For mail, we have set up an account with a mail forwarding company specializing in supporting RV customers (RVMail).  With all these things in place and family members on the path to being settled, it is time for us to head west to the northern tier states that we have not visited. We are a little sad and a little excited.  I guess the windshield is larger than the rear view mirrors so you can see where you are going more than where you have been.