The first few days...

I've been a van dweller for one full week. I'm getting into a routine (later post), but I still have A LOT of getting used to to do. It's going to be a looooooong 3 months, that's for sure. One thing that I'm just not getting used to is the ungodly heat we've had all week. I guess it's all part of "make Kelly's life a joke" thing, but almost all summer I was employed at what felt like winter camp. It was cold & rainy, with moderate heat thrown in the mix. Now that I've moved out of the AC, away from a shower, & into a living space abut the size of a handicapped bathroom stall, the summer heat has finally decided to kick in. Cool. I've been adapting well I think. I don't spend much time in the van throughout the day. I basically can only go in it to grab what I need throughout the day & then at night to sleep.

Sunday night's "sleep" was the worst. It was sooooooooo stuffy and not an ounce of breeze was blowing through my windows. I eventually stripped down to my underwear and was still dripping in sweat. I think I could handle it if a shower was available to me as early in the morning as I would need to get to school on time. Since it's not, I have to shower at night. By the time I wake up in the morning, I feel gross. I'm learning to live with "baby wipe baths" in the morning. I just hope my friends and students learn to live with the "baby wipe perfume" I appear to be wearing every day. After that wretched night of unrelentless tossing & turning, I've been working on figuring out ways of cooling down the van to a temperature more appropriate for sleeping. I make sure to park in the shade at school & wherever I go after school. Before I go to bed each night, I've found that if I take down the curtain separating the driving quarters from the sleeping quarters & drive around for 10 minutes with all the windows open & the vent on full blast, it cools down the van temp sufficiently. So far, so good. If the temp gets any higher, I will stay at a friend's but I didn't want to chicken out on the van during the first week, you know? Now that I've hit this milestone, to hell with it! I have no shame in crashing on a friend's couch for a night if it means no baby wipe bath in the morning. Here's to cooler weather ahead!

Thanks for sharing another Moment with Mo...