Long time, no blog! During this quarantine, I’ve decided to get back into the habit of journaling and blogging with a first-person voice to keep both you and me entertained. It might feel like you’ve missed a lot, or even a whole season, but I’ll try to catch you up as we go along. In the meantime, stay safe and remember to wash your hands.

Day 42 is here.

Living in a 300-square-foot RV with two huge Great Danes and my hefty Marine husband can be quite a challenge. It gets particularly chaotic when I’m making dinner, the dogs are sniffing around, and my husband keeps coming closer to see what’s cooking. Usually, this results in me shouting for everyone to get out of my space.

We also share a smaller-than-usual queen bed (RV mattress sizes are different). With limited inches per person and the closet wall right in my face, I sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic. Still, I can’t complain too much as we’re parked on a beautiful beach where people pay millions to live, and the sand is only a 15-second walk away.

It’s quite a change from living in a 2,500-square-foot house with two acres of land and 300 yards of private beachfront in Guatemala, where I had all the space to myself. Now, I have to learn to share.

I need to be better about giving my husband his space too. While he spends the day at work, I get some alone time. When he comes back, if he’s working on something or needs a rest, I like to take the dogs out for a walk.

In a 300-square-foot space, even a tiny bit of clutter can make it feel like we’re living in a mess. Our quarrel of the day: he woke up and complained because there was a single plate on the kitchen countertop. Given that the plate took up about 80% of the counter, he had a point. But since I do 99% of the plate cleaning, drying, and putting away, more arguing ensued, especially since he pointed it out while I was still in bed.

The bottom line is, even if you love each other, you need space. My previous kitchen was as big as this entire RV, so plates would pile up, get magically cleaned by an employee, and dry without disrupting the flow of the place.

Personal space also means accepting that your routines may differ. I’ve been waking up later than my usual 6-6:30 a.m. in Guatemala and going to bed much later than my 9-9:30 p.m. bedtime. I don’t like it, but if I stick to my old schedule, David would wake me up when he goes to bed, and I’d wake him up in the morning.

When things get tight, I can always take the dogs for a walk. I swear David has this superpower to open one eye, have a full conversation, and then fall right back asleep.

I also need to find a comfortable spot other than the bed. Last month, we bought some really nice outdoor chairs on Amazon, so those will work as long as I can stay out of the sun.

This RV even has an outdoor sound system, so we can listen to music outside without bothering the person inside.