As someone who has spent her entire life in Montana, I was beyond nervous about many aspects of our new lives. For those not familiar with what my partner, Brian, and I are currently doing, we are traveling in the Altplayground.net Tour Bus for the foreseeable future, meeting with sex positive people making a difference in our space along the way. When it's safe to do so, we will also be throwing events, both at venues as well as smaller meet and greets on the 45 foot bus!
While this change has been something we have worked toward for the better part of two years, and we of course are very excited about it, I (Brennna) am also nervous as hell! Allow me to explain:
I spent all 30 years of my life up to this point living in Montana cities. While all 3 of the cities I lived in had their own flavors and flare, they were still cities of less than 100,000 people (with our last city being the smallest at 40,000). I have always felt safe and secure, in all aspects of my life. I don't even think we locked our doors when I was growing up! When I bought my first home at 21 years of age, it was literally around the corner from my parents' house. If my dog ran away, I knew to go find her on my parents' stoop. And if my car battery died, I knew I could call my dad and have him come and jump me at any hour of the day. When I moved away from my folks, I moved in with my younger brother, yet again a security blanket that made me feel like I was still home. In other words, my life has always been safe, but not uber exciting.
Meeting Brian changed so much for me. For the first time in my life, I began to seriously question what I had always considered to be the "perfect life." Up to that point, I had always done the things I knew would make my family proud. I worked hard to climb my way up the corporate ladder for a Fortune 100 company, I made great money, and I surrounded myself with people my parents adored. But Brian and his unique life made me wonder: Is there something better out there for me? Brian is an unconventional man, always looking for ways to do things differently. And to say that way of thinking rubbed off on me would be a huge understatement.
Flash forward three years. Brian and I had been discussing leaving our jobs and hopping on the road for several months when we were approached by our partners, Altplayground, to drive their tour bus around the country. Despite this being something we both said we wanted for a while, I honestly never thought it would happen. But this offer made everything feel so real, and in no time at all, we were prepping our house for sale! Now, let me put this all into perspective for you: We didn't just sell our home. We sold or donated EVERYTHING. All of our furniture, our home decor, dozens of pairs of shoes, EVERYTHING. We shrunk our belongings down to about 4 suitcases, 8 plastic containers, and one very small storage unit.
Getting rid of almost everything we own was one thing (and hard enough, all on its own. There were definitely very unnecessary tears on my end). But to actually hand over the keys to our home was a whole different ballgame for me. I went to the signing at the title company with a lump in my throat, knowing that in just a few short hours, I would technically be homeless. But something kind of unexpected happened as I was leaving the title company: This huge weight felt lifted off of my shoulders. No more weekend-long yardwork sessions, no more cleaning every inch of a 2,000 sq. ft. home. No more feeling obligated to host big family dinners. It felt freeing in a way that I still haven't fully wrapped my head around.
After spending 3 days in a U-Haul with Brian and our 15 pound puggle, we arrived in Nashville to see the bus we would be living on for the first time ever. Until the bus is wrapped fully (which will be at the end of this week), we are staying in a hotel in the Nashville area and exploring all it has to offer. There are times when I feel a bit sad about what I left behind, but I'm also reminded often how lucky we are. We took a chance and did something that very few will ever do! We chose experiences and memories over tangible objects! We chose to chase our passions rather than chasing the biggest paycheck! And I'm really proud of us for that.
We will keep you guys posted on the changes that happen along the way, mostly via our Youtube channel, which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzGg0GIUyMBCbMrkixoO9Rw. It's not always going to be pretty (I'm sure that bus will break down sometime, and likely in the worst weather possible). We will absolutely get on each other's nerves living in a bus together. But damn, are we excited to experience it all!