Sad Times

[Ro646a]

I have spent many hours over the past few years reading and enjoying the various discussions on the forum. In 2006, we decided to buy our first RV at that time instead of waiting until we retired. It has turned out that it was the best decision we ever made. We had six years of happy RV trips, and since we retired a year ago have had an even more beautiful and happy year of travels and adventures in our RV. That was the best decision we ever made. I unexpectedly lost my beloved wife Lois last week. Enjoy your travels while you can and make the best of them. Life can go from happiness to despair in the blink of an eye.

[brandonrv]

Roland,

Very sorry for your loss. The mere thought of losing my wife depresses me. I can't even imagine what you are going through.

I hope you can keep your head up and work through it. Good luck.

[Sooboy]

Ro646a; My condolences to you and your family. You offer some sound advice.

[Ro646a]

As the OP on this thread I have been comforted by the many stories and kind words of support that you all have sent my way. Since this all happened so suddenly last week I have not been comfortable alone in the evening. At the moment I have been spending the nights in the RV. Although we had a happy marriage and were fortunate to have a nice home, I can't bear the emptiness in that house all by myself. It is comforting, sleeping in the RV, since that is where we made the happiest of our memories together.

We had just returned from a Trip to Tennessee and were planning a couple of shorter trips before heading out to the Grand Canyon in August. Nice as it would be to go ahead and make that trip in her honor, I couldn't enjoy the long trip out there alone.

Thank you all once again for all of the kind expressions of support. I will continue to be a participant in this great forum, perhaps not as often as before, but I will continue to look forward to reading everyone's posts. I'll offer comments from time to time if I have anything worthwhile to offer. Best regards to all of you, my friends.
Roland

[hipower]

To the OP (and those in similar circumstances) I can only offer my sincerest sympathies and hope for healing to come quickly.

To those of you who have offered your own stories and advice I can only add my own nuggets of so clled wisdom to yours.

We are never granted the foresight to know when our lives will end. All we can do is live each day as if there will be no tomorrow. Obviously that doesn't avoid the fact that we need to be reasonable about what we choose to do, at least financially.

During my working career I had a customer that manufactured caskets. I can assure everyone that they do not build in a secret compartment for us to take any money into the next life, wherever that may be.


We can't allow life's setbacks to dictate our future.
We can't stop living because of our grief or we will leave this earth before we have lived. A broken heart is just as disabling as a terminal illiness if we allow it to rule our daily life.

Although it is often difficult we must get up and go forward every day. Our departed loved ones would want that for us and to honor their memories we are duty bound to do so.

[wa8yxm]

Sorry to hear of your loss..My story:

Planed on it for years
Got RV in 2005 when we both retired
Hit the road in 2009 full time
Lost my wife Last Easter when she drove the used Jeep we had just bought into a tree, One car fatal, Appears she fell asleep but not sure, Sure she lost control.

Was a bit of a shock when I doubled back to see why she had not caught up with me (She was following me to a new campground) and found out why. Still recovering.

[rgatijnet1]

Ro646a, I am so sorry for your loss.
Right now we are in sort of a holding pattern while my wife's younger brother is under Hospice care. He is 7 years younger than my wife and was not yet ready to retire. We had talked many times about our travels and he was all prepared to buy a motor home and hit the road in a few years with his wife. Now, it is not to be and he has been selling off his boat, his Harley, and other toys so as not to be a chore for his widow after he passes.
The facts are that none of us know when the clock will stop. All we can do is make the best of each and every day and hope that there will be a tomorrow to enjoy. My wife and I have been fortunate to be able to travel throughout the USA and to Europe and South America. Our original bucket list was long since completed and now we have a continuously updated bucket list of things to do and places to see.
Thank goodness that you made the decision to go Rving when you were healthy. Many people wait until it is too late. Memories are never lost and your memories of your good travel times with Lois will be with you forever.

[AJR]

Ro646a, my condolences to you and your family. I lost my wife eleven years ago. We returned the tickets for our big trip to Europe when she was diagnosed with cancer. Should have gone anyhow… You folks did the right thing .

I know your pain. With time you will sort things out. That is part of the healing process.. It took me four years of sorting before I bought my first RV so I could travel with my dog. That was one of my better decisions.


If you do not have one, you may want to consider a critter to talk to and take care of. My dog knows more about me than anyone else.

peace…

[RoadLife]

(((((RO))))) I'm so happy you were blessed with all those years together and enjoyed traveling and exploring for so long. And sad for your loss. Condolences.

[Big_Ray]

So sorry for your loss

[randco]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss.

[TOOBOLD]

I am so sorry for your loss, but glad you made memories and decided not to wait. Cherish those memories of happy times and hold them close to your heart. Keep your chin up and keep as busy as you can. The hardest times are after all the friends and family return to their daily schedule. I am going through this now as my father and mother in law died within 5 weeks of each other. Spend time with the kids and grandkids that will be helpful.

The best thing I told my father before his cancer got the best of him was to take mom on a trip she wanted to go. He was most concerned about leaving her a nice estate. I told him she didn't care about the money and wouldn't go on anymore vacations without him, so he better get off his butt and take her. They took a month long vacation to Europe. They had the time of their lives. They returned in late October by early December his cancer had spread and he was too ill to travel. Mom talks about that trip constantly. I'm happy she has those memories.

[2Ambros]

Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring all of us! One of the best parts of camping in our TT is making memories with my DH. We too, decided not to wait until we retired but to enjoy it now. Condolences in your loss.

[down_home]

Nothing I can say except sorry for your loss.

[G7ARYM]

Shortly after I got my rig I showed it to a customer of mine as I used it to travel on business. He got the RV bug and found a nice used class A a couple of years later and retired with his wife and went full time. We met up a couple of times as our paths crossed and they were having the time of their lives. We had planned to meet up in a couple of weeks when I got a call from his cell phone but it was from his wife saying he died suddenly. She was crying but thanked me for introducing them to the RV life style for their last two years together. Enjoy the time you had together and continue to meet great people on the road. I know I am as long as we can. Do not stop traveling. See you on the road.