We got downsized from our jobs in our early 50's. We were not going to sit at home so we took off... sold everything. Our grandson was 1 yr. old. Most definitely we missed him but we had many years of our life to live, too. We were there for all his milestones and often times inbetween. As other grandchildren came we kept the wheels moving to their homes or them to us so they could grow up with our lifestyle.
When we began full-timing we didn't have a cell phone or computer. We stood in a cold telephone booth to talk. We wrote letters and sent postcards from where we were. The kids still have them. We were there for their various graduations, including pre-school. We were there for grandparents day, special school plays or whatever. We were there for their important sports games/tournaments but certainly not every one. We were there for their birthdays and Christmas. We took their school project 'Flat Stanley' traveling with us and the kids were a hit in school when they could tell where all 'Flat Stanley' had traveled.
We took them in our RV to special places for vacation and they spent some vacations with us by flying to us in special places. Sometimes we would fly back individually for various occurrences. It wasn't always easy as many times we were thousands of miles away but we made the decision to live our life and to include them as much as possible. It definitely wasn't all about them.
Basically, they grew up with us full-timing. We have an excellent relationship with all of them. When we announced we were selling the RV they were truly disappointed. They looked forward to tales of our travels. All of us could not be any closer. They are teens and actually call or text us 'just because'. They didn't miss out on a thing because we weren't there all the time. They knew they could be loved from a distance, too.
It's funny, the 20-year-old first-born just returned from a 4-month solo backpacking/hostel trip to the eastern Europe countries. He sent us awesome photos and writings and he had terrific experiences. He even took a 5-day tour to North Korea! We were all very uneasy but knew him and trusted his instincts. When he returned in January we celebrated his Christmas. He brought back special small items for all of us including some sand from a beach where my great great grandparents lived in Poland. He honestly thanked us for his experience. He said he probably would never had thought of doing it had it not been for our traveling years and our desire to see new things.
Full-timing isn't for everyone but it can be done successfully with families staying intact.
