Rosa Linda Román (00:28): Hello and welcome to New Mexi-Castaways, I'm Rosa Linda Román, and I am talking to you from a rental house in Austin, Texas. The only one home with me right now is Nala. Say hello, Nala. Hi honey. And she's getting a good stretch after we just went for, you can hear her shaking it off. We went for a run in this little neighborhood called Crest View, I think it is. And this is the second rental house that we've had here in the Austin area. Let me back up a minute. And sorry about the heavy breathing sound. I don't know how to fix that because I'm going to be working and when I'm working I need to be hands-free so the H4n recorder is clipped right in front of my mouth. Rosa Linda Román (01:19): So, I'm not sure. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do like a walk, and talk, and working audio recording. And if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you know I've been struggling with this for as long as I've been recording this podcast, so my apologies for not ever getting it figured out. But I do try to keep recording things even though the recordings are not perfect because the reality is life's not perfect. If you're looking for perfect audio, there are great shows out there that pay people lots of money and some that don't, some that just are better at it than I am. And I definitely recommend you listen to some of those awesome podcasts with perfect audio if that is important to you. But if it is less important to you than just kind of following one person's journey, then you've come to the right place. I say one person, but this podcast really represents five people. Rosa Linda Román (02:25): And since we're kind of in this new chapter, let me reintroduce everyone. They're not home because here in Austin for this week we're in June of 2018 as I'm recording this, my seven-year-old son Samuel and 11-year-old daughter Ziva are both at a sports summer camp for this week. And Ahava, she's our 13-year-old, she is at work with Nathan. And so, I am by myself and I'm working on something that I do a lot, which is preparing to pack our family to go to the next destination. So, I need to be hands-free and that's why you're going to hear my heavy breathing. But yeah, this podcast, basically, started, I really started recording in earnest back in 2015. I can't believe it's been three years now when we were just thinking about the possibility of moving onto a boat or buying a boat and sailing. Rosa Linda Román (03:31): And then we did go through that process. We bought a boat, we moved onto the boat, left New Mexico, and went and lived in Florida for a long time, and then, sailed to The Bahamas, and back to Florida, then back to The Bahamas. And then, just two weeks ago, I guess, it's three weeks now, the Dawn Treader sold. And I guess it's been a full month actually now that I think about it. So, a month ago our home, the Dawn Treader was sold to a wonderful couple. I have not met the wife yet, but the gentleman who bought it, Doug and his wife Susan, when Doug came on board for the first time, it was during, obvious, very, very stressful situation because I was on board with my kids and with my husband on and off. He had a lot of things going on, still working in the middle of it as we were trying to pack up all of our belongings to move off of the Dawn Treader. Rosa Linda Román (04:29): And the way it was set up, the broker had made it sound like the guy that bought it was kind of a crotchety guy who didn't want to talk to the new owners, I mean the old owners. And so, we never got a chance to talk to him until, basically, the day of the closing. So, it turned out not to be the case and he and his wife Susan asked, and offered, and generously, suggested that maybe we as a family could sail with them again in the future. Particularly, we were going to go back to Florida this week and sail their maiden voyage out of the area that it is in. It was getting work done since we bought it, I mean since they bought it. And they, right now as I'm talking to you are probably heading up New River, which is kind of a treacherous trek through an area that is really hard to traverse. And if you've listened to this podcast for any length of time, you've probably heard references to all the trials and tribulations of going up and down New River when we first moved on to the boat. But anyway, so best wishes to the new owners. They did ask for us to go with them, but timing wise it just couldn't be worked out. So, they are having their maiden voyage right now. My phone is ringing so I'm going to ask you to please stand by and I will be right back Rosa Linda Román (06:03): Okay, I am back. I was actually gone for quite a while, but you can't tell that because to you it was just a few seconds. That was my cousin Steve calling and then after that, I had a conversation, a long conversation with my brother-in-law Ari and both conversations had to do with our upcoming travel. Now, a big part of moving off the boat has been trying to figure out what next. And I always laugh because What's Next was the former name of the Dawn Treader when we bought her. She was called What's Next. And so, the irony that every time I think about our life and what we're doing, we're always like, people say, "So, what's next?" And I'm like, "Well, what's next after what used to be What's Next is we are a full-time…" We've been telling people we're a full-time traveling family and at the present moment that is accurate, and correct, and true, and it has been what we've been doing. Rosa Linda Román (07:05): Not only did we go to Florida to move off the boat, but we went to Disney World. We've been here in Austin. We stayed here for a month, and then, we went back to Florida for the Disney trip with my brother and his family because they moved to Germany just two days ago. And then, we came back here to Austin, and we've been exploring, and enjoying for another three weeks here in Austin. But after this we are driving, I'm leaving on Monday and that's why I'm packing up the house, by the way. Ziva, Samuel, Nala, and I are getting in the van and driving from here to Tucson. Tucson is where my brother-in-law lives. It's where my husband is from. And in Tucson, we're going to pick up the camper that used to be our camper that now belongs to my brother-in-law. Rosa Linda Román (08:00): And we're going to drive that camper from Tucson to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, my husband Nathan and Ahava are going to fly in from Austin. And by the way, the reason they're staying and not driving with us is they both have more daily commitments that need to, you know, obligations that they need to finish. So, for Nathan, it's work and for Ahava it's gymnastics. So, they'll fly into Los Angeles to meet us. My brother-in-law will then… I think we'll spend a day or two in the Los Angeles area, and then, my brother-in-law will fly up to Oregon where he is going to a wedding, and we will start heading in that direction. But in terms of how many people fit in the vehicle, it really is only six people that fit. And it's because it's a Ford 150 pickup truck. And so, we're going to be driving through California up to Lincoln City Beach Oregon. Rosa Linda Román (09:03): And then, from there we're going to head up to Sequim, Washington where my other brother-in-law lives. So, all of that is just one trip. And then from Sequim, we're going to fly out of Seattle back to Florida, but this time to Tampa because my brother Jose is getting married in Clearwater on a boat actually. So, that's exciting. So, we're going back to Clearwater or we're going to be in Clearwater for the weekend, and then we'll go back to Disney to the Orlando area because A, I'm a Disney freak, and B we want to spend that time with the cousins in the Orlando area. I have been talking about, and I don't know if I talked about it yet on the podcast, but I have been looking at and talking about the possibility of possibly picking up like a seasonal job at Disney. And so, maybe I'll go to an interview while I'm there. I don't know, Rosa Linda Román (09:57): I waffle back and forth because I really like the thought of doing something like that, but I I'm not sure this is the right time for it. As much as I really love the idea of going back to the company that I've loved so much in the past and having something of my own that is not about the kids per se. And I did look on the Disney job sites and there are some jobs that I would be uniquely qualified for to actually pursue. But in the time that I've been thinking about it, a lot of things have happened with our family, nothing earth-shattering, but a lot of these discussions about where we're going to live next and what's going to happen, there have been moments with each kid individually and with my husband that I kind of realized like, you know, if I had been working at that job that I, you know, have been kind of envisioning in my head, I would not have been there for these certain moments that have happened. You know, each child in their own way with whatever the ups and downs that they've had. Rosa Linda Román (10:58): And I really cherish the fact that I get to be actively involved in the conversation that my kids are having with themselves, with each other. And so, I don't know. I don't know if I'm willing to give up, you know, that all of that to take a job at this point. I kind of tell myself, you know, that's the kind of thing that I definitely could do later. I obviously, as you can tell by the fact that I'm still recording, I still pursue and maintain some semblance of skills in my former life of my career. Yeah, so anyway, I don't know if I'll do that or not. So, after Disney, then we fly back to New Mexico actually, actually, and that's where my kids are going to be going to summer camp. Rosa Linda Román (11:57): And they will all three be in camp this year. It's the first time Samuel's old enough to go to camp and it's a week long. And so, with them at camp, Nathan and I are going to have a week all to ourselves. So, we talked about what did we want to do, We had ideas about going to St. Lucia and lots of other ideas of where we wanted to go. And then, it hit us that maybe we just want to go to our condo in Mexico, which is driving distance from Albuquerque that's in Puerto Penasco, go there, check on it, spend some time at the beach, just the two of us, and then, go to San Diego, which is a city I think I did a little recording of that I really, really loved and Nathan and I have really fond memories there. Rosa Linda Román (12:48): So, we'll do something. I don't know if it'll be San Diego or something else, but we'll have that week of just us, and then, the beginning of August, so like by August 7th, from that point forward, we have a completely open schedule. And that's such a strange thing to say, but we have no clear obligations other than Nathan will always continue to work in the middle of all of this. But we don't have somewhere we have to be. And we've had these discussions about where do we want to live, what do we want to do? And the big thing that we are talking about now and that we had a date night last night and the thing that came up pretty much the central conversation is that Nathan and Ahava want to be here in Austin for… they want to make a six-month commitment. Rosa Linda Román (13:45): They want to rent a house and be in one place for six months. Now, if you guys know me, you know that even the mention of that makes me like feel tense and I'm like, "What?" But the fact that Ahava said that was really surprising to me because she is one of my most avid travel buddies. Like, she loves the fact that we travel and she loves our traveling lifestyle. So, you know, I had to really weigh that heavily when she expressed that she wanted to stay in one place for six months. The reason for that is that she really loves the gym she's at. She is feeling like she's finally making some major strides in some of the areas of her sport that she really wants to focus on. And yeah, so, and Nathan, he wants to really see her stick with a coach and stay in one place for a length of time so that she can really gain the benefit of working with a coach. Rosa Linda Román (14:52): And then, Austin is a natural place for him for his work. And so, there's all these reasons that it seems like Austin would be the place to be. But then, I had conversations with Ziva and she has been enjoying volleyball here. She plays volleyball and she's been enjoying that. And like I was saying, they're at camp, and so they're having a good time, and we've done some really fun exploring here in the Austin area. So, I thought she probably would be fine with the idea of spending more time in Austin. But the other day when we were talking, she wasn't happy about the thought of staying in Austin. And so, we had a really big conversation and I said, "Well, what's the deal?" You know, it seems like it has a lot of good things. And you know, yeah, it's not ideal, but why wouldn't you want to stay?" Rosa Linda Román (15:50): And she said, "Well if we were going to stay in one place for a long time, I have…" She has always expressed that she wants to go back to New Mexico. That's where our home is. It is rented out or Tucson, which is where my husband's parents' home is which we are now sadly partial owners of. And my brother-in-law lives there. So Ziva said, you know, at least in New Mexico and if we're going to have a home base and use that as a jumping-off place to travel from, she said, why would we rent a house in a city where we don't know anybody and why wouldn't we go to New Mexico or Tucson? She said, "You know, I gave up the thought of going to school in New Mexico this year." Because she wanted to go to middle school with her best friend in New Mexico. Rosa Linda Román (16:41): That's what she had been looking forward to for a long time until she just recently, in recent months, decided that she would forego that so that we could travel as a family. And so, she brought this up to me the other day. She said, "You know, I really thought that we said we were going to be a full-time traveling family. And so, I gave up the thought that I was going to spend sixth grade in New Mexico so that we could do that. And then, I knew that I was going to be in seventh grade in New Mexico and we can have that time where we're all in one place and Ahava can focus on our sport, and, and, and, and…" So, that was Ziva's perspective. Ahava's perspective and Nathan's is that they feel like Austin is a good place and it's got some things that maybe wouldn't be available in the other places. Rosa Linda Román (17:31): So, all of this to say these are the big heavy conversations that we're having. It's a little hard because we all have very big strong personalities. But I do think that from living on the boat, it has helped us to really realize how important it is to make sure everybody is heard and how critical family communication is. And so, we are taking the time to go through these conversations and have these discussions slowly and thoughtfully as they're coming up. So, for that, I'm really glad that I'm a stay-at-home mom and I'm able to be with them and kind of feel them out through. Because at first what will happen is one of the kids, particularly, the girls, but Samuel too, they'll express that they, you know, "I don't want to do this or I don't want to do that, or why do we have to do this?" Rosa Linda Román (18:22): And then if we're in passing, if we're in a hurry, we're heading somewhere, you know, we don't have time, then it's taken a certain way. Like, my interpretation would be, "Oh they're just being difficult." Or this or that. But when I'm able to be with them more, you know, consistently, and talk through these questions and really spend the time digging deeper, it really, really, really helps me get clear on what the underlying issue is because I think with five of us in this family, we're not all going to be happy with whatever decision we're making, but if we can be respectful and hold onto the core thing that each family member needs to have happen in order to find their joy, then I think we're all going to be okay. So, you know, if I said, "Well if I don't do this…" Because at one point, by the way, I had said let's just spend that six months in Orlando because there's Disney, I could go get a part-time job. There's some really great opportunities there. Gymnastically, there's some really interesting schools there. There's, you know, all these reasons, Rosa Linda Román (19:24): But that's not my core need. I don't need to go to get a job. That's not my core need right now. For me, it's about making sure that we're able to communicate and kind of go through this journey and these adventures respectfully, lovingly, and so that we all get the most out of it. So, when I think of it like that, then my answer is, it doesn't really matter where we are. If Ziva really wants this time for travel, well, Austin could work as long as we remember it's just a home base and we can still use this to jump off and do other trips. For Ahava, if it's, you know, strengthening her sport. And if that's the core and I'm still figuring that out, we're still exploring. If that is really the core of it, you know, then Austin is a good option. Rosa Linda Román (20:21): But there's other cities that are good options too. It might be Orlando, it might be Tucson. You know, Albuquerque, I'm not sure would be as easy because of the location of our home is so far away from all the gyms. And then, Samuel, the thing we've discovered really in the last two weeks, at least, as his mom, that I feel like, not that I discovered, but I was aware that he wasn't getting enough physical activity for his energy level. And you know, we would go to parks, and we would go to the pool, and we did things like that. But it wasn't until this week that he has been doing this sports camp, swimming, playing volleyball, tumbling, park core, you name it, he's doing all these things that he comes home and it's the first time ever by the way that he had like sore muscles from exercising, which is really funny. Rosa Linda Román (21:19): He's seven and this is the first time he's ever been sore. So, that means he has never pushed his body excessively because he's always going and he's always active, but he really has been active this week. And so, the realization is that what he needs is focused energy-burning activities, you know, something that he can do regularly, every day pretty much to keep that active body engaged so that he feels happy. Because when we ask him, by the way, if you say, "Samuel, where do you want to live?" He used to always say, "I want to go back to New Mexico." And just within the last month since this time we've been back in Austin, he's like, "I wouldn't mind staying here. I wouldn't mind going to Orlando. It doesn't matter." He's feeling less like I have to be in New Mexico or I have to be in one specific situation. Rosa Linda Román (22:16): I think he's starting to see the value and being able to go, and travel, and explore. So, yeah, that's what's on my mind today. I realize that I am just sitting here talking to you and not actually doing my work. So, I'm going to wrap this up. I'm going to pack up our suitcases because this weekend is Father's Day and I don't want to spend the weekend packing. Also, Ahava normally goes to work every day with Nathan and since the kids, the other two are in camp, I asked her to do all her schoolwork because she's still, even though it's summer, she's still doing Florida Virtual School. I asked her to get as much as she could done Monday through Thursday so that she and I could have the whole day tomorrow to play. So, I'm going to try to do as much work as I can around the house and get things at least, you know, so organized and ready to be packed. That packing and leaving on Monday, the Monday after Father's Day will be a breeze. That's my goal. Rosa Linda Román (23:06): So, I thank you for listening. If you have questions or if there's specific things you want me to talk about in my Rosa Linda's Ramblings here on New Mexi-Castaways, please let me know. I would love to share tips, and tricks, and ideas, but mostly I just ramble, and talk, and share my process with you guys. So, that's it for now. Thanks for listening. If you want to see videos and photos, you can check out on the Facebook page, New Mexico Cast, on Facebook. There's a button that allows you to join the New Mexi-Castaways crew. And yeah, that's it for now. Thanks for listening. I'm Rosa Linda Román.