09/10/2026
It’s been awhile since I posted. For the last five weeks, I’ve been working pretty much 15 hours a day remodeling, cleaning, repairing and completely tackling my house, garage, shop and property. In my true fashion, when I have something that needs done, I stay focused. I’ve barely been on social media or even my phone at all. However, in this 100° scorching heat, when I did take a break, I channeled some of my frustration and thoughts into writing this song and making this video about the experience.
This one is for anyone who has ever thought about life on the road and for those already living it who are struggling with the question of whether to keep a home base.
This is a summary of my personal story in regards to the various ways I tried to keep both and the outcome of each decision made along the way.
Many years ago, when I decided to head out and live on the road, I wasn’t ready to let go of my house or all the things I had accumulated over the years. For the first few months, I simply put up security cameras, locked the house up, turned off the AC, turned the heat down and left.
That turned out to be a terrible plan in a Missouri summer.
When I came back, I had a house full of mildew and an overgrown yard. Apparently, you can’t just close up a house in Missouri, shut off the air conditioning and expect everything to be fine.
I tried another solution. I hired someone to check on the house and mow the property. Two months later, he called to tell me he hadn’t been there in four weeks and no longer had transportation.
Back to Missouri I went.
That’s when I decided house sitters were the answer. I found a nice couple who would stay in the house and take care of it as if it. I wrote up a detailed contract, laid out the rules and restrictions, made an area in my garage where i could stay while in town and thought I had finally found a way to have both things: a home base and a life on the road.
For quite a while, it seemed to work.
Every time I came back to town, the outside looked great. Over time, things gradually changed. A dog appeared, even though the agreement specifically said no pets. Then there was a cat. Eventually, things that had seemed very clear in the contract were no longer being followed.
By the time I finally ended the arrangement, I was faced with a house that looked cared for from the outside but was a completely different story inside. I won't go into all the details, but .. I was shocked at how the home was left and what was left behind for me to have to deal with. A tremendous amount of cleaning and repair was waiting for me.
Walking back into a house I had put so much work into was heartbreaking.
Despite all of that, I’m still grateful for the care that was given to the house and yard. Without the house sitters, I probably wouldn’t have been able to spend the time living the life I had dreamed about and the house would have been much worse if it had sat empty. So, though it seems I'm complaining about having people stay there.. I'm not. I'm just pointing out that if it is something you are considering, a contract is only good if you are willing to enforce it and some people's normal wear and tear might not be the same as your normal wear and tear.
So.. with the house sitter situation not working any longer.. I had to try to figure out a solution again.
I can't afford to keep paying for a house, maintain everything that comes with owning property, and also have the money I needed for the kind of van I would need to continue traveling the way I wanted.
I love my van and was willing to rough it with a no bathroom no shower no air conditioning vessel to see all the places I had dreamt of seeing but now that it's more of a way of life rather than an exciting destination thing.. and no longer being as tolerable of the weather extremes .. realizing the importance of a shower and ac. Lol. I've concluded that selling my place is probably the only way I can afford to get the right van for me.
I had been trying to keep one foot in two completely different lives. What I've realized is that I have to choose.
This song is about that choice: the struggle between the security of a house filled with everything you’ve accumulated over a lifetime and the freedom of having the highway ahead of you.
Some of the images in this video were created specifically to help tell the story. They are for entertainment and storytelling purposes and should not be interpreted as actual photographs, exact replicas of events, or depictions of specific people or conditions.
The story itself, however, is mine.. and doing all these repairs in the hottest part of a Missouri summer .. well, as the last part of the song and the title says..
Decision Made
Music: Decision Made
Lyrics / Arrangement Rebecca Lents
RZStudios26 https://suno.com/
