Bus Life in Alabama

Not only did I clean the bus, but I plucked my eyebrows, too. It was the perfect time to do a vlog…

Bus life is life simplified. As you can see, there’s not much room for stuff in the bus. The menu is simplified by the limits of a small fridge and the burns-nearly-everything oven. Days are simplified by the lack of the normal tasks, activities, and outings. Although I don’t feel called to live this simply all the time, it has its benefits and I do enjoy it for a season.

Mornings start with rolling up the bus curtains to let the bright, Alabama sunshine in. I feed the kiddos, make a smoothie for Jeremy (who likes a light breakfast) and then we begin our day.

Sometimes it’s school with the kids first, but this month there’s been more getting outside to enjoy as much of the warm weather as we can before we head south, than staying inside with books. There will be plenty of time for school when we’re all cozied up in our home in NY for the winter.

I have to run to the laundromat several times a week as well as the grocery store (because the bus fridge is so small), so I often run errands in the morning.

In the afternoon, Seth naps on one of the bunks in the back, allowing the rest of us to be in the front of the bus without waking him to easily. (He doesn’t like to fall asleep easily in mommy’s bed–he’d rather play, so I usually have to lay down with him for 15 min. till he passes out. This is nice down time for me). Afternoons are when mommy writes, or joins daddy down at the trailer they’re remodeling. He is putting in flooring, she scrubs and paints.

Jesse and Claire ride their bikes as much as a 6 and 4 year old could possibly want. They also make up all sorts of creative games with tape, sticks, cardboard, and crayons (since mommy, ehem, forgot to pack toys this time around). Their artwork plasters nearly all the available wall space in the bus.

Evenings are the most challenging, as it gets dark by 5pm, so we are all 5 in the bus for 3 hours before you can possibly call it bedtime. We get a little stir crazy sometimes, but an episode of Buck Denver can usually get us through mommy making dinner, and books from the library carry us till bedtime. After children pass out, finally mommy and daddy get a little time to think and relax, maybe watch a grown-up movie, or work on the blog together, or finally get the rest they deserve.

And then it starts all over again. That’s a glimpse into bus life...what part do you think you’d hate or love the most? And did you like my eyebrows???