Back in the states, one of our first priorities was to get insurance. With this little one growing inside of me, we thought it was pretty important to get coverage.
So, we began with medicaid. On Tuesday, when we arrived back in the states, I submitted the application. Since we are living with family, I had to ask them all sorts of personal information to fill out the forms ex. bills, income, social security etc.
By Saturday I had a letter in the mail with our case number saying to call Monday through Friday between 10 am and 4 pm for my clearance interview. The catch, I had to contact them by Oct. 5th or else my application would be disregarded. Beginning Monday morning, Adam and I have been calling non-stop and only get connected to a busy signal. (Today is already the 3rd)
My mother suggested that we call out county congressman and ask for help. When I called his office, his very nice secretary said she would put a call into DCF (The Department of Children and Families) and have them call me. She was super nice, but I am still awaiting the return call.
In the meantime, Adam and I went to the County Clinic for an affordable evaluation and appointment to check on the baby. I am sure everything is fine, but going on week 11 and after traveling for 33 hours, I just wanted the doctor to take a lookie and tell us everything was okay in there.
We drove to Paramore which is the “not so nice part of Orlando.” The women in the office were so kind to me, of course I couldn’t stop my mouth from telling them our whole life story and how all I wanted was the doctor to check on the baby after traveling and blah blah blah. They told us that 1st, seeing the Dr. was by appointment only and they were currently making appointments for Oct. 11th and 2nd, my mailing address was in Seminole Country, not Orange so I needed to go to a different center.
They gave us the phone number for the Seminole County Clinic which is literally 3 miles from where we are staying, not the 25 we drove to downtown. When Adam called to ask about making an appointment (I was driving), they said that I had to wait for the Medicaid to clear before we could come in. Then the conversation went like this:
Adam: So once everything clears I can call back and make an appointment.
Lady: No, she can call. (meaning me, the wife)
Adam hung up and was furious.
Why is it that people can’t be nice when they are lucky enough to have jobs! And anyway, once Medicaid clears, we will be able to see a regular doctor and not have to go to the health center anyway.
So, now we are in limbo. We are waiting for DCF to call us before we can do anything.
Neither Adam nor I have ever had to rely on government support for anything. He didn’t even collect unemployment when Autotrader closed his office. This is the first time we have had to be a part of “the masses” and had to experience just how difficult it is to get something so important accomplished when all of it is out of our control.
Keep exploring
Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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