She, Who LivesWith Less +Discovers More - Kimmie Pitman

7:45AM Aug 2, 2023

Speakers:

Candice McCoy

Keywords:

kids

love

feel

homeschooling

rv

life

homeschool

family

travel

literally

husband

give

lifestyle

living

waldorf

good

pandemic

live

intentional

learning

Hi, I'm Candace. And this is she who wanders a podcast from the great wanderlust.

So one common theme I'm finding when talking to women who are forging their own path and creating their own realities for their families, as they all take care of themselves by practicing self care for both their mental and their physical health. It takes a lot of stamina in these areas to show up every day and choose a life full of adventure with our families. Today's guest is an incredible example of this, which is why I am so happy to introduce you to my friend Kenny Pittman. Kimmy is a wife, mom of two and adventurous Nomad who gave up a traditional lifestyle to live full time with her family of four in their RV. craving more time together as a family and the ability to focus on experiences over things. She and her husband downsized everything and made some seriously bold moves. So they could live an active adventure with their kids on the road, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, and just being learners of life all along the way. With their faith at the center of everything, they are homeschooling their kids, focusing on more natural ways of living, and spending the majority of their time outdoors to be as close to nature as possible. Kimmy is passionate about health, fitness and well being and shares how simple it can really be for women to take the best care of themselves and literally add more life to their days. Kimmy Welcome to she who wonders thanks so much for being here.

Thanks for having me, Candace. I'm super excited. And thank you for that wonderful intro,

I am super excited to get into this conversation. Well, the

feeling is definitely mutual, I would just love for you to

take a minute and just kind of fill in the gaps. Share with us a little about your journey your family and just kind of where you've come from and how you got to where you are today,

my husband had residency, and then we got to him as an attending physician. And so we had gotten the house and our kids were in a Montessori Preschool. And we had done all of these things that the American Dream tells you, you're supposed to do, you know, we felt like we had arrived at this place. That means success, and we just were very unfulfilled. And so we just decided that we were going to switch the way we were living. And we made a plan to pay off all of our debt, and try a different lifestyle focused around adventuring and spending time with our kids.

I just love your story. Because it takes a lot, I think to really evaluate like how your life really is like I think we get into the steps of life that are kind of the norm and what's expected of us. And some of us, I think it takes like for us the pandemic to actually stop and reevaluate and ask these like better questions, these bigger questions that just really evaluate whether what we're doing is really what we want and what our soul needs, or whether it's just kind of the pattern of life that like we all follow.

Exactly. I mean, it was it was the pandemic for us to all of a sudden, my husband's work hours were cut by half, and he was home so much more often. And it was great. We loved being able to spend time together as a family, the kids were home, we were just spending time outside in our yard, making fires and building stuff. And we just kept asking ourselves like, this feels right. How do we make more of this? How do we make this our lives because he's working, you know, 60 to 80 hours a week, all the time, we had gotten to this point that we had been working for for so many years. And we realize how unfulfilling it was. And then when the pandemic hit, and his hours got cut in half, all of a sudden, the kids were home, he was home, I was home, and we just got to have so much time together. This sounds terrible. But we were like, gosh, this pandemic has kind of been a blessing for us, because it's given us time that we normally wouldn't get. And so that made us reevaluate everything and start questioning, how do we get to spend more time together? You know, we only get 18 years with our kids before they're moving out and doing their own thing. And so we thought they're already flying by we don't want to miss it all just because we're working to you know, fund a house and a car and whatever else.

That is literally exactly what happened over here. It's like the forced to slow down, just created like clarity. And I know it didn't do that for everybody. I always feel like I need to say that because for a lot of people, you know, the pandemic was a very traumatic time very difficult, but it is good to always be able to see the Silver Linings I think that come out of it. And so, you know, to be able to realign your life like it's a pretty big deal.

It is and I mean traveling was something that we loved to do together as a family. And every time my husband got to vacate Shouldn't week. I mean, we were gone, we were traveling. And so it just kind of all came together at the same time, all of a sudden, we had time to have these conversations and to think, and to start formulating this new plan of, well, we love to travel, we'd love to do things outside. Let's make those the central tenets of our lives. And it's been great.

I would love to hear just more from you on what did that transition look like from living the traditional lifestyle in a traditional home, to downsizing to the RV and not just downsizing? But like, what bold moves did you have to make or decisions did you have to make? And what were kind of some of the challenges that came with that?

Well, it was all very intentional. And the process was about an 18 month process. And we started with, you know, figuring out what are our barriers to entering into this lifestyle. And so, you know, we got all of this, all of our student debt paid off, because my husband had tons of medical school loans. So that was the first big step of get that paid off. The second big step was selling our home, which we got very lucky with it being at the height of the market, we actually weren't planning on selling our home as early as we did. But we thought right now we're going to take advantage of this market. And let's go ahead and get that off of our plates. That was a big one. And after that it was researching the kind of RV that was going to work for our family. And then what kind of truck are we going to need. And so it was purchasing the RV, renovating the RV to fit our family's needs, and then purchasing the truck. And so it was a long process. And we just had to really be intentional about it.

Yeah, because adding that in on top of just your normal life that was still happening, right? Was he still working lower hours are you guys kind of still in the flow of busyness.

So you know, as soon as things kind of started to lift, he was only off of work or down to halftime for about two months, maybe. And after that they went right back up to their normal work schedules. And so he was still working full time. We didn't put the kids back in school, their school went virtual. And that wasn't in alignment with what we were wanting. So we never put them back into their Montessori school. But we did take on the task of homeschooling at that time. And then yeah, renovating the RV, I basically gutted the whole RV, except for the kitchen and the bathroom. Well, I replaced the toilet in the bathroom. But it was a lot of work. But I enjoy that kind of stuff. And I find a lot of fulfillment and homeschooling and in renovating and just making things with my hands. And so it was a lot to juggle and to balance. But it was nice, because we knew that there was an endpoint and we had a date set that, hey, we're getting out on this date. Because we knew that if we didn't set a date, it would very easily never happen. It would just keep getting pushed back and pushed back.

We can have these like visions and ideas. But literally until you set that date and literally put it on the calendar and say this is happening. It's really hard to actually take that action, but setting that day and even maybe, I don't know, do you guys start telling people tell family or friends like about your plans? Because I feel like that always kind of accelerates things to you're like, Okay, we actually have to do this.

Yeah, I mean, we So originally, we had planned on moving to Costa Rica. And we didn't tell a lot of people about that. But we were we had actually spoken to developers in the neighborhood, we wanted to purchase it. And we were looking at lots, and then the pandemic hit. And we realized that traveling back and forth to the United States. So my husband could work while he was being licensed in another country like that was going to be a thing. And so we got to the point where we weren't comfortable with that situation, it wasn't secure enough. So that's kind of where we transition to this RV idea. And when we started telling people, you typically we will make our decisions. And then we tell people, because I'm way too easily influenced by other people. And so yeah, we started telling people and we started making moves, and we made a timeline for ourselves. And we really had to hold each other accountable.

I know you've talked about this, like on your YouTube videos and stuff about the whole idea of downsizing and simplifying that you had to do. And I'm super passionate about just clearing out stuff having less burden of things. And so I would love to hear you just talk about how simplifying in the process of moving into a tiny space. How has that impacted you? Is it exactly what you thought? Had there been surprising benefits? What kind of effect has that had on you, your family?

To be honest with you, Candace, it has been a huge game changer. But I don't feel like I've given up anything. I don't feel like I've given up any comforts. Like we very intentionally designed our RV to fit our family's needs because we knew we were going to be living here full time and so that was super important. And because Because of that intentionality and designing it around our family versus just, you know, whatever comes standard, that has made a huge difference. And then in terms of living with less, first of all, I love getting rid of stuff, like one of my favorite things to do becomes an addiction, it didn't start that way. But you get to the point where it feels so good to let go of things that aren't serving you anymore, that you feel free. And so living with less and downsizing just really made us hone in on what actually matters to us. We knew that bringing our bikes was non negotiable. I knew that, you know, my kids wanted bunk beds, and I thought, I'm taking away your room, we're all for sleeping in the same room together. So they're gonna get their bunk beds. And then for the kids, especially like helping them figure out what are the toys and the things that they actually really love. Because they like everything, kids like everything. But we had to really say what do we actually love and play with on a consistent basis. And they both actually become really good about saying, Mom, I'm done with this. I don't play with it that much anymore. And it's taking up space in my box, can we donate it. And so that's been really gratifying, that's really

powerful. I think we underestimate kids, like in general, a lot. Like we think it's going to be too hard on them, or they're going to be traumatized. And obviously, you want to do it in like a gentle way. But I think kids are a lot more resilient. And once they understand the idea, or the vision behind what you're doing, and they feel the effects. They're willing to get on board. We've experienced that too, with the minimizing and now our kids will come in and be asking mom, I'm ready to donate the stuff, can we clear out some space, they feel it too, but until their attention has been drawn to it, and their eyes are open to it, then it may feel hard to get them on board.

I mean, I think we live in such a consumerist culture that we become imprisoned by our stuff without even realizing it. I mean, for years, I moved around. And I dragged trash bags and boxes of stuff around with me for years that literally never got to the point that I had no idea what was even in there unless the box was labeled, which is kind of crazy if you think about it. And so we're trying to teach our children that you don't need all of the stuff, you just need to know what do you really value and what adds value to your life. And those are the things that you want to hold on to and that those things will change as you grow and change and evolve. And that's okay, it's okay to let go of things that are no longer serving you. And they're just taking up physical and mental space within you. And so I'm hoping by doing that, we're giving them a gift, they can grow up and they can have a huge house full of stuff, if that is where their heart lies, and that's what they want. But I don't want them to feel like they have to have those things, to feel validated as a person

that's truly such a gift that you're giving them just for them to be able to understand that value behind it and to be able to teach them the skills to evaluate for themselves, like does fill their soul and for them to be able to be asking those questions even at the age how

old are your kids? Were five and seven.

Even it just such a young age for them to already be developing that kind of mindset is such a gift. I would love to go ahead and jump to the whole like homeschool question said your kids were in some kind of outside school before you made this big life transition. So just tell us a little more about this style of homeschool that you guys pursue now.

So we use a Waldorf homeschooling curriculum and Waldorf is a very popular method of schooling around the world, but not so much in the United States. You're going to find most Waldorf schools up north. When my son was six months old. We were living in Cincinnati, Ohio, and we drove past this beautiful building. And I was like, Oh my gosh, what is that? And it was a Waldorf school. And I had never heard of Waldorf, I just thought it was cool that the kids were outside playing and that there were all of these natural looking play structures. And so I started researching Waldorf and I just fell in love with the methodology, the reasoning behind everything. It's also intentional, which is kind of the underlying theme of everything we tried to do. And so when we were in Knoxville, we found a nature based Montessori school and we sent our kids there, which we absolutely loved. Their teachers were great. The school was great. But I remember one day my son Wilder came home and he knew how to write his name, and I was so excited and proud, but I also felt kind of gypped like I didn't even know he was starting to write. I didn't know that he knew how to write his name. I felt like I missed this huge man. millstone in his little life. And that was, I think, the first time I really felt some discontentment with sending our kids outside of our home. And I just had this realization of how much time I was giving up with them. But I was so afraid that I wouldn't be good at homeschooling. And I was so afraid of giving up my personal time and turning it over to homeschooling, I was just afraid that it was going to take something away from me. And I mean, as, as most homeschool moms, I think probably know is it actually is the complete opposite. And it adds so much to your life. But that's kind of how we got started. And so when the pandemic hit the school, we just kind of made a decision before the school ever announced what they were doing, we said, these are our personal beliefs and how we feel. And so if the school goes with that, great if they don't, that's fine, we're going to try homeschooling. And so they went in the opposite direction. So we said, okay, let's give homeschooling a try. And we've not looked back, it was actually a huge blessing in disguise.

What advice would you give to a parent who maybe wants more freedom, they want to live more aligned with their values? And maybe they do think it could be a good option for them, that they don't feel capable? Or they don't feel qualified? Is there any just advice or tips that you would give?

Yeah, well, society wants us to compartmentalize our lives, you know, they want they want this section over here to be school, when that section over there to be work, and then you have home. And the first thing I would say is that you can integrate it all together. Historically, before kids were required to go to school for past, you know, a certain grade, everything was done together in the home, and there's so much learning that happens in the home, that school can never replicate. So first, I would just say, you know, understand that you don't have to compartmentalize your life that you can bring that into the home. The other thing I would say is just do it, just try it, try it for one year. And you can always send your kids back to, you know, public school or wherever, if it doesn't work out, just give it a try. Because I think it takes a good three, maybe four months to get into a groove. But once you get into a groove, I think you will see that you are capable of doing it. And the beauty is that there are so many different curriculums nowadays, it's so many different levels of support that is offered in the homeschool world, that there's something for everyone. And so I think the first step is knowing your intentions and what you truly want out of your child's education. For us, I don't care if my children are straight eight kids, if they go to college, great. If they don't, that's also fine. Our main goal is to instill a love of learning in our children. And that is the number one goal. And so if you know that your what your number one goal is, and if it's academics, that is perfectly fine, but just know what your number one goal is. And that can help guide you towards the right type of schooling type of curriculum out there for you. But you just got to give it a try. You just got to kind of jump in headfirst and say, Well, we're gonna give it a year. And if it works great. And if it doesn't, it's all right.

That is such good advice, because part of the problem is that we all put so much pressure on ourselves, and especially if we're considering taking on our children's education, it feels so heavy, it's so much responsibility. And what if I mess it up realizing that you actually really can't mess it up. If you're just showing up and you have the heart and the intentions, you're being there for your kids and you're giving them resources to learn. Kids just naturally learn, the biggest thing that we have to do is just get out of the way so that they can develop that love for learning kids are so

curious, like they are hungry to learn. But when we put them into these little boxes and say you have to learn this specific way, it can very easily kind of crushed their spirit. Whereas one of the beauties of homeschooling is you can nurture your child's natural curiosities or, you know, if this one way of math over here isn't working for them, and they're getting frustrated. There's like 20 other different ways to teach that same concept that you can go kind of search out. And it's a beautiful thing when you can nurture your children physically, mentally, emotionally and intellectually. And that's not

the same where you sit and teach them for a few hours. And then like you try to do your things and they're just doing whatever, like they can come alongside you while you're cooking or folding laundry or even while I'm working. You know, I tried to keep a little bit of space, but I'll tell them like what I'm doing or what I'm working on and they can work in the room with me if they're, you know, doing something and so, just having it be where it's this fluid, comprehensive just living life together and learning. At the same time, I just feel like it's so magical. But again, it also just kind of takes the pressure off, because they're learning so much just in the sequence of the day, you know,

especially when you just kind of relax and yeah, trust that your kids are learning, they may or may not be learning exactly what the core curriculum says that they need to learn on that day, in that week, or in that grade. That's okay, like kids learn at different rates. And yeah, learning it, and they're enjoying it, and they're intellectually ready for it now, and they're hungry for it, which makes it so much easier.

It's literally a completely different approach that just really centers the need of the actual child, you know. Hey, they're taking a pause to tell you about the wonder list. It's a weekly email I curate and share with our community of more than 1000 Women who are getting off the beaten path in both travel and life. Inside it, I share a roll up of inspiring stories of women in this community. And my favorite links to articles, podcast racks, and so much more. I hear from women every week who find encouragement and ideas to put the most life into their days. So I'd love for you to join us, you can sign up for free at the Great wunderlist.com/hello or follow the link in the show notes. Also, when you subscribe, I'll share a list of my favorite books to help you on your journey. For almost a decade now I've held a morning ritual for the health of my mind and spirit. Reading, praying, meditating journaling, I always start the day by infusing my mind with truth and connecting with my soul, which has really changed the quality of my dates. So I'd love to send that list to you for free. When you join us, head over to the great wonder last.com/hello. And I'll see you there. Okay, now back to the combo. But along with that, especially with you guys traveling full time living in a small space, really pouring into your kids education, there's got to be some challenges that come with just taking care of you. Because just being a person outside of just being a mom, you know, taking care of yourself doing what you're passionate about. And honestly, conversations on this series almost always come around to self care, personal wellness. And I think it's because to be able to show up and really be true to our values convictions get uncomfortable, which is required for taking risks, living outside the box, like you have to be pouring into your own wellness. So I know for you staying active strong is super important. But I would love to just hear more about how it helps you live out your vision for your life and this like, you know, off the beaten path lifestyle. How does that contribute? And why is it important to you?

I think there's this very common misconception that, as a mother, you're the last person to get taken care of. And I just think to be the best mom, you can be for the people around you the best wife, you have to make yourself a priority. Because if you're exhausted and stressed out, you're not doing anyone any favors. The first thing is I always wake up before my kids wake up. And that gives me time to do my morning Bible study, I can read a little bit of a book for pleasure or catch up on whatever I need to catch up on. I have time to enjoy my coffee I'm not rushing around. The other thing is, I always prioritize cooking healthy homemade food. I know the ingredients that are going into everything. And that has made a huge difference in just our overall health, being able to stay healthy on the road and keeping our energy levels up. And then prioritizing workouts to our kids have basically grown up in gyms. Fitness is a passion of mine, I was a personal trainer for a number of years. It's a passion of my husband. And so it's really important for us to model those healthy behaviors. And being strong makes me feel good about myself, and gives me a level of confidence and capability. But just kind of teaching our kids and showing them that the reason we do these things is because it makes us feel better. My son is so into mountain biking and I am not that good at it. But I can get on a bike and I can go ride the majority of the trails. And that's important to me to be able to participate with them. Rather than being sitting on the sidelines and just watching them from afar.

Being able to stay active and literally be in the game with our kids, especially with a lifestyle that you have where you're not taking them and just dropping them off at sports or activities and like cheering from the sidelines like you're literally in the action. You're right there with them on your travels whether it's being active We're just being outside going for a hike, you are a part of that. And so being able to take care of yourself and, like keep up with them, especially as they're getting older, I know mine are starting to leave me behind on stuff. So I'm having to work a little extra hard. But when they become a parent someday understanding, and it just being completely the norm that, hey, I'm a parent, but I actually prioritize myself, I think a lot of us come from this point of feeling guilty to take time away guilty to tell them, I can't do that right now, because I'm doing my workout. But it's like, actually, we're creating value in their life by helping them to see that that is actually normal for a human to take care of themselves, no matter what their role is in life.

Yeah, 100%. I mean, we're hoping that by modeling that behavior for them, they see that

they're literally absorbing everything we do. And so I think a lot of times where we're so concerned about saying the right thing, or teaching them the right things, but it's literally and it's a little terrifying, but it's them watching our every move and absorbing our lifestyle, and like who we are, at our core, it ingrained in them this way of life that is only gonna serve them forever, you know, but honestly, to take that even to the next level, which is kind of our mission around here with a great wonder last, and this she who wonders series. It's just it live the voices of all different types of moms who are passionate about not settling for the status quo, but really creating their own reality, feeling vibrant, feeling fully alive. So I want to ask you, what is your great wonder less what makes you feel most alive?

Honestly, it's traveling, it's doing what we're doing. If you had asked me 10 years ago, if I would be doing this now, it was so far out of my personal reality, it was something I always dreamed up. But I didn't think it was for me. Like I didn't think I could do that I was afraid to leave my family. I grew up in the same city, like I never moved until I was in my mid 20s. I just had so many insecurities about myself that I thought, Oh, I could never do that. And then my kids came along, and my husband came along. And he is so wonderful and supportive. I don't want to look at my kids one day and say, gosh, you know, I always wanted to do this, but I didn't. Because I was afraid or because of whatever reason. And I tell you what we have had so many people that we have met on the road or with my husband's work, who are in their 50s or 60s. And they've all looked at us and said, Oh, we wish we had done what you guys are doing when we were younger. And when our kids at home and you know, now we've got health issues or you know, now it's like we can't retire, we've got this business that depends on us or whatever it may be. And my heart went out to every one of those people that we've come across. And I just thought I don't want to live with those regrets. Because we truly only get one life, we really do. And so, you know, I think just figuring out what your dream is, and going and doing it. And worst case scenario, like if it doesn't work, that's what we thought, we thought if this doesn't work, we can always get another full time job, buy another house settle back down, getting out of the mainstream lifestyle was the hard part, getting back in is not a big deal.

And I honestly think that could literally be the theme of this episode, is what you were saying about you used to not even consider that that was for you. Or that you could be that person even though it seemed enticing. You're like now, you know, that's not me. But asking ourselves the deeper the bigger questions, and not under estimating ourselves or with the potential of our life like this, I've been thinking about this whole thing of, you know, basing your goals or like your what you're doing with your life based on what you think you're capable of, like if somebody says what do you want? Are you telling them what you think you're capable of? Or truly what is actually possible in life? Because opening that door up and letting yourself really consider Well, could I do that? What would it actually look like to do that? You know, do a little research like is that really impossible for me? Maybe not, you know? And so for some people like for you, it's travel. For some people, it's not going to be travel, it's not going to be homeschool, but just knowing that we're being intentional, and going down that road and asking those questions so that we are living our most vibrant life. I feel like you were like the best example of that.

That's such a huge compliment because that is something that as I got older I kept realizing like I don't even know why I'm doing this. I don't even know why I'm in this career. I don't even remember who I am. I was so lost in my mid 20s as to who I was, and I finally had to I have like a bit of a break down to break down those walls and start asking myself well, what do I like to do? And what are the things that really light me up and it's always been camping and being outdoors and being outside. So I just started with that and started just small trips and, you know, just camping more in and then my husband and I camping and traveling with the kids and then it just kind of snowballed.

Yeah, it's like one little baby step in the right direction can just set you on a whole new path that you don't even expect. So I hate coming to this point of the episode because that means that it's wrapping up. But on that note, I want to ask you some rapid fire questions if your game. Oh, yeah, go for it. Awesome. So question number one. Where are you off to next?

Specifically, we're going to Anastasia State Park. We are going to be in Florida. For the next six weeks. We're heading up to Tennessee for a month and then we are headed out west. We're going to Montana.

That sounds like literally the dream itinerary. Where would you love to spend a day wandering

Banff National Park and it is on the list. It is in the itinerary? We're working on it.

Are you guys gonna take the RV there? Or how's that? Yeah, I

think after our stints in Montana, we're going to head up to Banff. And we're going to try to stay there for a couple of weeks and do Banff and do Jasper National Park. So fingers crossed that we'll see some northern lights. Yes, that would be killer. Yeah, I think there's going to be some legwork there, especially because we're taking our dog and I've heard that getting animals in and out of Canada is a thing. But I'll do all the legwork. And then I'll give you all of my notes.

Yes, I will take all the pointers for sure. Okay, number three, I've got two more what is a book recommendation that you love? Or is that has had an impact on your life.

So the Bible, ever since I started studying the Bible versus just reading it, it has impacted my life. That's a whole nother show. But if we want to go like a just a standard book that's not religious, I would say Essentialism by Greg McCowan, it is a game changer. It's a must read.

Okay, last one who inspires you to dive deeper into travel and life,

other RV families, if it weren't for the encouragement and being able to see other RV families doing it? I don't know that this any of this would have ever happened. And so we try to be open and honest and share our journey with others. Because other people doing this have shaped our journey and inspired us so profoundly

Do you have off the top of your head a couple of favorites.

So never say someday, they are super inspiring. They're also a family of four. And we're hoping to travel with them in the future. And then exploring outside the 303 is another RV family that they just are awesome. They just have all sorts of tips and tricks and just love following along with their journey and learning from them.

Okay, awesome. Thanks so much for that. So, on that note, I know a lot of our listeners are gonna want to follow along with your journey. So what's the best way for them to connect with you tell us where you hang out online.

So I'm most active on Instagram, our handle is wild Pitmans. And then we also have a YouTube channel that is also wild Pippins I post on there every couple of weeks. It's more about our travels. But you're gonna want to follow on Instagram if you're at all interested in our lifestyle.

Oh, Kimmy, thank you so much for just sharing all of these valuable bits of information and mindset things. So everybody else can kind of evaluate whether they're really digging deep and living their great wonder last and finding the path that is really the reality they want to be living. So you're such an inspiration for that. And just thanks so much for spending the time with us today.

Thank you so much, Candace. I appreciate it. And you know, I would just tell everyone to stay intentional.

If this podcast impacted you maybe gave you a new perspective or made you think differently about something I would love to hear from you. Take a screenshot or share and tag me on Instagram. I'd love to connect. And if you'd like to help us grow the reach of these conversations, be sure to subscribe to the she who wonders podcast wherever you listen, and I'd be so grateful if you leave us a podcast rating and review. Until next time, keep wandering