By Vicki Scott
Am I the only one who takes dreams to this level? There are certain dream triggers. I can’t predict them; they happen.
One day while working at George Wallace Senior Center in Glencoe, center director Pat Hill ushered me outside to “show me something.” “Something” was a beautiful Roadtrek camper featuring all the bells and whistles, including a little kitchen and bathroom with a queen-sized bed. He camper was owned by Charles Tolleson. I tried to talk Charles into selling it to me and my husband Alan into buying it.
Neither one would cooperate, so it didn’t work out. But that thing was nice and I started dreaming!
Shortly after the devastation of this blatant refusal, my daughter was giving birth at Baptist East in Montgomery. The whole time I was at the hospital, I thought about how convenient it would be to have a camper like Charlie’s camper, which was not much bigger that a regular van and could easily fit into a regular parking spot. When my dad was in the hospital, I could have slept in our own little home-away-from-home right in the parking lot instead of the waiting room or my mom’s car.
I couldn’t shake my dream. I even thought of relatives that we could visit and just sleep in their driveway. I don’t know why but I started surfing the internet. Keep in mind that we had no money to spend on a camper and that I’m not a camper.
As I was surfing the web, I found a Winnebago Revel camper that had even more bells and whistles than the Roadtreks, plus four-wheel drive. Oh, the places I could go! I wanted a big enough camper for everything but short enough to fit into a parking spot at the Walmart if I felt the need for a nap. It only cost $153,000. The Lord spoke to me; okay, it could have been reality. What the voice was, “Dream on, girl!”
The problem besides not having even close to $153,000 was that my husband and I do not camp. We spent the night in a cave a few times but we did not need a camper for that. While trying to convince my husband that we needed a camper, he said we might need a conversion van, in that all we need is a place to sleep. That is what Charlie said, adding that they didn’t even use their bathroom. I mean, who would want to clean that? They would camp out where there were public bathrooms available. So, I searched conversion vans, which make motorcyclists look just as cool as the campers.
Alan was not convinced. Conversion vans were still too expensive for my husband’s blood. I reasoned that one of us needed to conserve, and I praise God for that.
Then it happened – I woke up early one morning and had some time with God.
My darling husband brought me a Jeep Cherokee for my long trips. I think God had this vehicle made for me.
During our ride back to Glencoe from my mom’s house, I was deciphering – could this jeep fit a queen-size blow-up mattress if I let down the back seats? Where would I put the luggage?
My husband kept asking what I was thinking (he gets nervous when I’m quiet). I don’t know why. I asked him what the handles above the windows were called and he told me to look it up. While I was looking it up, he told me it was a “grab handle.” I knew he knew the answer. When I told him that I knew he knew the answer, he asked me again what I was thinking. I replied that I wasn’t ready to tell him.
When we got home, I was able to move the stuff from the back to the front and then let down the seats in the back. My husband kept asking what I was doing. He looked so confused.
I got out the blow-up mattress and put it in the back. I asked Alan to see if he would fit in the back. He said “No, you do it!” I slid in the back and I fit. Alan said he could fit in well but did not try attempt to do so.
Alan then asked about the grab handles and I showed him how I could use them to hang sheets for privacy. I was so proud of myself and he thought I was a new level of crazy. I probably am, but he had to admit that it would work. My dream came true – I own a Jeep camper with four-wheel drive!
Life seems to be a lot like this for me – the older I get, the more I realize the simple life is better. I praise God for supplying my needs but not always supplying my dreams. He knows what is best for me.