A break from bus life

As I mentioned in a recent post, bus life is becoming easier and easier. Not only that, but it’s also getting nicer to be in the bus. 

At the beginning, I felt like Sid was just a place for me to sleep in. I felt like I had to leave the bus in the morning, find a way to entertain myself for the entire day, mostly sit in the library for hours, and go back to the bus at dinner time.

For weeks, I was really tired.
I was constantly concerned about running out of water, not being able to use the toilet as it was often flooded, using up too much power, or not being able to charge my phone.
I also didn’t know what to do with myself while in the bus. In spite of being technically functional, Sid didn’t feel exactly cosy at the beginning. 

But over the past few weeks, Luke and I have been making heaps of small and not so small changes that now make me want to be in the bus al the time.

This is interesting because… I wasn’t expecting it.

Because there have been a lot of adjustments around living and relationship dynamics, I have found it very helpful to reframe what having a bus means to me. What has been particularly helpful is to not see Sid as something I am stuck with.

At first, as exciting as it was, it also felt a bit daunting to think that I was living in a bus. It felt like I had no other options.

But as time went by, and as we learned how to do bus life, we have been finding an incredible amount of support from friends and acquaintances who have offered us to stay at their place if we needed to. On top of that, we have also discussed the possibility of finding some sort of base that we could use to do bus work, or to crash at whenever we’d need some space.

Having these options took some pressure off the idea that I had to be in the bus.

But surprisingly, the more I created different options and alternative potential living situations, the more I’ve been finding myself wanting to be in the bus.

We have agreed that, whenever someone offers us a room to stay for a while, we should take that opportunity. So now we are staying with some friends for a couple of weeks.
Sid is parked just outside, and as much as I enjoy being surrounded by real walls (especially in this gnarly weather), I miss her. When we were up in Auckland a couple of weekends ago, I also missed Sid. I missed how cosy she feels. I missed her familiarity, and knowing that everything I need is there.

I have been enjoying cooking with an oven and showering every day and being able to use the toilet exactly when I need it. And I am extremely grateful to have the option of staying in a house for some time.
Yet, I don’t want to get used to taking things for granted. Living in a bus has made me more resourceful and creative, and I’ve been really valuing that. So I think once these two weeks are over, I will be excited to go back living in Sid.

Has anyone of my fellow van-lifers ever experienced this? I’d be curious to know!