What's your WHY?

[Yareelohim]

My wife and I have two little boys, 3 yrs and 6yrs. To say these boys love the outdoors is an understatement. They have been hunting and fishing with us from the moment we brought them home from the hospital (seriously).

We live near the glorious Sacramento River in far Northern California. For years I had dreamed of having a nice river jet boat for hunting and fishing. Last year my buddy gave me a deal on his guide boat that I couldn't pass up. It was the boat I had always wanted. We used it almost every weekend and more for lake days, hunting and fishing. I loved the boat...but my boys only liked it. They couldn't stand being cooped up in the boat all day long and so many of our outings were filled with tension.

Last month I went on an excruciating hunting trip where we hiked in 5 miles and climbed 2,000 ft...then hiked back 5 miles with and additional 100lbs of meat in each of our packs. Fortunately it was down hill. We brought my buddies travel trailer on that trip and within 15 min of arriving we had leveled the trailer, hooked up the propane grill and were sitting on the edge of the Klamath River eating elk burgers.

The revelation hit me like lighting. I could imagine my kids playing in the river, picking up crawdads, fishing for the trout, running in the woods, fawning over the wild horses, etc. I looked at my buddy and said, "I have to sell my boat. A travel trailer is an investment into family and life."

We had no cell service at camp until we reached our 2,000 ft climb. We took a shot on a nice buck and I immediately text my wife a picture of the buck and the terrain. She responded, "Congratulations. We need to do more camping, we should buy a travel trailer."

That was all the confirmation I needed. The next day I prepped my boat, cried a little, took pictures, cried a little more, and then listed it for sale. I had 50 people make an offer in 2 days. I sold the boat 3 days after listing. We looked at every trailer and 5th wheel in every dealership in our area in a matter of 3 weeks. We asked tons of questions (my wife's family has a lifetime of RV and TT experience) and researched like crazy. Ultimately, the trailer we wanted wasn't available locally so we had it ordered and shipped. We wanted something in our price range that wasn't too big but big enough for our boys to grow into and could also accommodate my parents if they want to go with us (they couldn't afford a TT growing up).

We just got the trailer home today. Our boys are beyond ecstatic! We invited Nana and Grandpa over so the boys could show off their new trailer. This is a large purchase for us but everything in me says this was the right decision. This is our investment into the years we will never get back with our boys so we want to cherish those moments as much and as often as we can.

A month ago, as I sat by the Klamath River and told my buddy I was going to sell my boat to buy a trailer, he looked at me and responded, "This travel trailer has helped save my marriage and brought me closer to my children."

I can't wait for our first trip out and to see our boys light up at the wonder of God's marvelous creation!

I would love to hear your WHY.