Main point, make an effort to know someone anywhere you go....even if only there for a short time. Get out there and meet SOMEONE! My husband and I (and our two fur kids) have been temporarily staying in Tulsa, OK until our next job assignment in North Dakota. Beyond a few people that work with my husband in the corporate office, we never really met anyone in town, much less our RV park......bad mistake. LIFE LESSON LEARNED and this will never be us again after yesterdays occurrence. I may be the friendliest person you have ever met in line paying for gas...and we'll leave exchanging numbers..haha. Sooooo, yesterday my husband comes home from work and like usually, we debate if either of us are really hungry enough to make a big meal or make a quick sandwich. We opt for our turkey dogs (hot dogs made from turkey) and proceed to relax watching Wheel of Fortune and playing/reading on our iPads. I start to notice my husband being very restless and rubbing his arm and getting really red. Then he starts holding the middle of his chest. Not in agony just rubbing it like you would having indigestion. After going through these episodes for a few minutes getting super worried, we decide going to the hospital is the best option. Better be safe than sorry! We hurry out the door leaving the fur kids behind, confused I'm sure. We get to ER at around 7:30pm and finally after numerous test, they decide that they want to admit him at 2:00am and monitor him and do a stress test in the morning. After the first couple hours in the ER, it pops in my head that my poor fur kids are at home alone and probably dancing around crossing their legs......and this is where it hit me.....of course my husband is my number one priority but my dogs are completely reliant on me and lets face it, they are like children to me! I had no one I could call at that hour to run and check on them. I didn't know a single soul around us and the only other person I really knew, didn't live anywhere near us (a good 40 minute drive if not more away)and we weren't like BEST buddies that would do something like that at that time of night. Finally, after getting hubby situated in his room, I left him (very reluctantly, but i had no choice) to run back and let dogs out and give them some attention.... I guess I should mention that the hospital, during normal hours, is at least 30 minutes from the RV park.... Anyway, I stay up with my fur kids until almost 4am and decide to get shut eye for an hour or two before heading back to hospital with stuff for hubby and of course because I was worried to death about him. I left the fur kids at around 7:30 am thinking that we would be home by around noon (i know, i'm a dreamer)....well, 2:00 rolls around and still no dismissal or test results, so I am left to resort to the one person I know. Luckily he knows my dogs and they are comfortable around him (we worked together on last work project and shared an office and I took my dogs to work with me almost every day) and everyone in the office is off at noon on Fridays, so he happily came and took them for a walk and watered them, etc. Once we got home later in the afternoon, it was so nice to know that my fur kids were ok and taken care of....but it also hit me, that we got many places where we have NO ONE and i have never once thought about "what would happen" if stuff like this happens. It hit like a ton of bricks to make sure that I at least get to know even one person in the area, because just as much as I may need them some day, they may need me as well and everyone should have that comfort I guess.
I know, long post, and quite possibly babble to some (i am running off of little sleep) but a little food for thought for those that can read through the babble. I love my full-time Rv life, but from now on, i'm doing to try and be a little better at it
Have a WONDERFUL day all!!!!
PIEERE said
07:11 PM Jul 11, 2014
Hope the outcome is good. I learned a bit late also as being solo. We can never have enough friends. And I found out when I had health problems it was a blessing as relatives were to far away.
Trabuco said
08:33 PM Jul 11, 2014
Very good point Jennee! You'll have to let us know how Dennis makes out.
Barbaraok said
10:19 PM Jul 11, 2014
Dave ended up in the ER a couple of weeks ago when his back went out. Thank goodness we have a cat so I didn't have to worry about her - she is pretty maintenance free.
You didn't feel comfortable calling the RV Park office? We always ask as we check in where the best places for breakfast are, what other things we should see, etc. Small talk, but at least get a feeling for the place and I make sure to get an emergency phone number just in case.
Barb
Camper Chronicles said
06:23 AM Jul 12, 2014
Jennee first off hope Dennis is ok. Second I totally get it. We are very hunkered down with a small group of people and at this age haven't been that interested in investing the energy new friendships take. One of the most amazing things about the RV lifestyle is how easy it us (compared to my regular life) to let new people in. It might be the quality of the people you meet, or my new relaxed nature, or just the fact that we have a common interest that binds us. But whatever the cause I am completely grateful for it.
WestWardHo said
08:12 AM Jul 12, 2014
Jennee,
Thanks for your excellent post. Something we dog owners should all think about as something could happen to any of us at any time. Please update us on Dennis, it sounds like he's o.k. That had to be a very scary time for both of you.
Thanks again,
Sherry
WendysPhotos said
08:20 AM Jul 12, 2014
Hope your husband is okay!!
I can relate to your post. We have lived in the same place for 20 years and really do not know our immediate neighbors. We have friends we can call, but none directly around our farm. I hope with 'closer' neighbors once we are on the road, we will be more extroverted.
MarkS said
11:16 AM Jul 12, 2014
Jennee, I get it. We have never had any difficulty meeting the folks around us whether camping or living in a house. When I had my first heart attack my heart had stopped. Our trauma center nurse and a pharmacist friend kept me going until the ambulance arrived. Had it not been for them. At any rate, we don't meet our neighbors because we are planning for the worst but it does pay off to be outgoing and friendly.
DenJen12 said
04:02 PM Jul 12, 2014
First of all, thank you all for asking about Dennis. He is doing good. Luckily all the test came back clear. Still not sure what it was (his blood pressure when we got to ER was 180/120...not good) but happy to say that he hasn't had any more issues and everything came back good!
I am usually an extrovert but for some reason lately I find myself keeping to myself more. As we get older, I guess we really realize it's about quality not quantity when it comes to friendships . And like Lee and Trace said, it's a lot of energy really generating those kind of friendships. Not that I mind the work, but when I'm only in a place for a short time, I wonder if it's worth it. Now I totally get that it totally is!!!! And who knows, maybe one of these days on one of our adventures, we may run into some of you great people! If anyone is ever in Watford City, ND (i know, haha, yeah right)...look us up We're heading that way Tuesday and should be there for a year to a year and a half.
kb0zke said
06:17 PM Jul 14, 2014
Glad it all turned out okay. WITHOUT REVEALING ANYTHING, how do you let someone else into the coach? Do you keep a spare key somewhere on the coach? Do you leave the coach unlocked? We used to have some really good friends next door, and each of the two families had a key to the other's house. I can't see that being a practical solution in an RV park. One obvious person would the park owner/manager, but my guess is that few of them would accept that responsibility. So, what do you do?
Main point, make an effort to know someone anywhere you go....even if only there for a short time. Get out there and meet SOMEONE! My husband and I (and our two fur kids) have been temporarily staying in Tulsa, OK until our next job assignment in North Dakota. Beyond a few people that work with my husband in the corporate office, we never really met anyone in town, much less our RV park......bad mistake. LIFE LESSON LEARNED and this will never be us again after yesterdays occurrence. I may be the friendliest person you have ever met in line paying for gas...and we'll leave exchanging numbers..haha. Sooooo, yesterday my husband comes home from work and like usually, we debate if either of us are really hungry enough to make a big meal or make a quick sandwich. We opt for our turkey dogs (hot dogs made from turkey) and proceed to relax watching Wheel of Fortune and playing/reading on our iPads. I start to notice my husband being very restless and rubbing his arm and getting really red. Then he starts holding the middle of his chest. Not in agony just rubbing it like you would having indigestion. After going through these episodes for a few minutes getting super worried, we decide going to the hospital is the best option. Better be safe than sorry! We hurry out the door leaving the fur kids behind, confused I'm sure. We get to ER at around 7:30pm and finally after numerous test, they decide that they want to admit him at 2:00am and monitor him and do a stress test in the morning. After the first couple hours in the ER, it pops in my head that my poor fur kids are at home alone and probably dancing around crossing their legs......and this is where it hit me.....of course my husband is my number one priority but my dogs are completely reliant on me and lets face it, they are like children to me! I had no one I could call at that hour to run and check on them. I didn't know a single soul around us and the only other person I really knew, didn't live anywhere near us (a good 40 minute drive if not more away)and we weren't like BEST buddies that would do something like that at that time of night. Finally, after getting hubby situated in his room, I left him (very reluctantly, but i had no choice) to run back and let dogs out and give them some attention.... I guess I should mention that the hospital, during normal hours, is at least 30 minutes from the RV park.... Anyway, I stay up with my fur kids until almost 4am and decide to get shut eye for an hour or two before heading back to hospital with stuff for hubby and of course because I was worried to death about him. I left the fur kids at around 7:30 am thinking that we would be home by around noon (i know, i'm a dreamer)....well, 2:00 rolls around and still no dismissal or test results, so I am left to resort to the one person I know. Luckily he knows my dogs and they are comfortable around him (we worked together on last work project and shared an office and I took my dogs to work with me almost every day) and everyone in the office is off at noon on Fridays, so he happily came and took them for a walk and watered them, etc. Once we got home later in the afternoon, it was so nice to know that my fur kids were ok and taken care of....but it also hit me, that we got many places where we have NO ONE and i have never once thought about "what would happen" if stuff like this happens. It hit like a ton of bricks to make sure that I at least get to know even one person in the area, because just as much as I may need them some day, they may need me as well and everyone should have that comfort I guess.
I know, long post, and quite possibly babble to some (i am running off of little sleep) but a little food for thought for those that can read through the babble. I love my full-time Rv life, but from now on, i'm doing to try and be a little better at it
Have a WONDERFUL day all!!!!
You didn't feel comfortable calling the RV Park office? We always ask as we check in where the best places for breakfast are, what other things we should see, etc. Small talk, but at least get a feeling for the place and I make sure to get an emergency phone number just in case.
Barb
Thanks for your excellent post. Something we dog owners should all think about as something could happen to any of us at any time. Please update us on Dennis, it sounds like he's o.k. That had to be a very scary time for both of you.
Thanks again,
Sherry
I can relate to your post. We have lived in the same place for 20 years and really do not know our immediate neighbors. We have friends we can call, but none directly around our farm. I hope with 'closer' neighbors once we are on the road, we will be more extroverted.
I am usually an extrovert but for some reason lately I find myself keeping to myself more. As we get older, I guess we really realize it's about quality not quantity when it comes to friendships