A few months ago, I wrote a blog about human connection.

In it, I mentioned my friend April Crossley, who I had done a podcast with back in the spring.  April and I immediately hit it off.  We had been connected on social media for several years, but neither of us knew how long or which one of us had connected to the other first.

We found out that we had so much in common.  We both became parents at the age of 16.  We were both from Berks County.  We were both full-time RVers.  We were both introverts who overcame our anxiety in order to speak publicly.  We were both willing to be brave enough to throw our vulnerabilities out into public at times.  Most of all, we were more than just full-time RVers.  We were both searching for something more on our new journeys.  Something deeper.  A deeper and greater spiritual relationship with our creator.  We both seemed to be asking a lot of questions and finding the answers in nature and on the road.

I guess by society’s standards, we were both a little bit weird, or maybe even a little bit crazy.  However, I don’t think that either of us really cared about what others thought of us at this point in our lives.  I can’t speak for April in this regard, but that is something that took me a long time to overcome.  What other people thought of me was always a huge concern of mine.  A few years ago, though, I truly learned the art of not caring.  Through some very painful experiences and a lot of spiritual growth, I came to the realization that I really didn’t care what anyone else thought about me anymore.  People are going to form their own opinions about you regardless of what you do sometimes.  There is no point in wasting your valuable time and energy trying to change those opinions, because you will rarely succeed in that process.

As long as you can wake up every morning, look yourself in the mirror and be at peace with yourself and with God, you’re doing ok.  That doesn’t mean that you’re perfect.  It doesn’t mean that you’re not still making mistakes and stumbling through life at times.  It just means that you’re out there doing your best and striving everyday to be a little bit better than you were the day before.

About a week ago, Sandy and I were able to connect and spend time with April and her husband Justin in Idaho.  It was the first time that we had actually met in person.  To some, I’m sure that seems a little bit strange, but to those of us who are the same kind of weird, it’s perfectly normal.  We already knew that we had a connection long before we ever met face to face.  We knew that God had us cross paths for a reason.

My favorite Steve Jobs quote goes like this…

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

The best part of our journey has been connecting with like-minded people.  That was April and Justin.  Very like-minded people.

They were part of those “crazy ones” who aren’t fond of society’s rules and decided to live the nomad life and travel around the country full-time in an RV.

There are a lot of us out there, over 1.5 million of us to be exact.  1.5 million of us out there roaming around, not living life in one place, but truly experiencing it.

It was actually awesome to be able to hang out with some friends who are “our kind of weird.”

The more that we talked, the more that we found out we had in common.

As it turned out, Justin’s sister used to be my inside support specialist when I was working for Wickes Lumber and there were several other people in our respective circles that we all knew. Six degrees of separation was more like two or three degrees of separation for us.

There was a time during our visit that we were talking as if we had known each other all of our lives.  Sandy makes fun of me sometimes because once I let my guard down and know that I have a certain comfort level with those around me, my introverted personality turns into storyteller extraordinaire.  As a mater of fact, she made that comment while we were with April and Justin, and I simply replied with a laugh and said, “Honey, these are my people.”

Isn’t it amazing how that works?  There are some people in the world that you meet and you immediately feel connected to them.  Others, you can know for an entire lifetime and still feel a disconnect no matter how hard you try.

I’m a true believer that everything in our lives happens for a reason.

Another one of my favorite Steve Jobs quotes, goes like this…

“…You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

There have been so many times since Sandy and I have started this journey that we’ve looked back and been able to connect the dots.  We’re still connecting them.  Three years ago, if you would have asked me if I would ever do what my mom did and travel around the country, I would have resoundingly answered, “No.”

But here we are, over 26,000 miles and 35 states later, and we’re still going strong.

We’re still in awe every time that we see a mountain, a tall tree, wildlife, a canyon, a river, or the ocean.

We’re still in awe every time that we meet people and find out how close you can get to someone in a very short period of time when you find out that they’re your people, that they’re “your kind of weird.”  They’re special, they’re a gift from God and He placed them along the path of your life’s journey for a very specific reason.  Sometimes that reason can be figured out immediately, sometimes it takes a little while to look backwards and connect the dots to find out that reason.  All of the time there is a reason that He placed those people in your path.

For Sandy and I, we both still have questions, but we’re enjoying the ride while we’re searching for the answers.  We’re growing spiritually, we’re grateful for the opportunities that have yet to present themselves to us.  We’re trusting the Lord and listening to His still small voice.

We’re sharing our journey with our friends through social media.  I’m telling stories through my podcasts that need to be told.

We cherish our time with people like Justin and April who we were able to get know better.

Me and my longtime friend, Ray Schell.

We also never take for granted the opportunities to reconnect with old friends and family along the way.  Like my friend from high school, Ray Schell and his wife Judy Rae, who we were able to reconnect with after almost 30 years and seemed to have been able to pick up right where we left off.  Our three days with them were so incredibly special as well. They are our kind of people, our “kind of weird.”

Times like now, when we’re parked in our friend, Ron McCoy’s carport in Long Beach, Washington with full hook-ups, and just a short half-mile walk to the Pacific Ocean.  We only met Ron back in January in Florida.  He is the father of one my cousin Carole’s best friends, Tim.  He and his wife were RVers for twenty years.  He immediately invited us to stop and see him when we got to the west coast.  That’s a special person who will do that.

Me, Ron, and Sandy.

I did a podcast with him back in February.  His was a story that needed to be told.  His life experiences are like none other.  He is 80 years old now and has no intentions of slowing down any time soon.  He has more projects going on than I can count.  He is up with the sun most mornings and out clamming.  He’s waiting on a part for his boat and wants to take us out crabbing when it comes in.  I won’t try to keep up with him because I can’t.  He is generous beyond belief.  Ron is our kind of people, our “kind of weird.”

As I had mentioned before, above all of the scenery and beautiful nature that we have seen, the human connection is the thing that we have valued the most.  Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, we do all long for real human connection.

Not small talk and fake, but real, genuine connection, that’s the my “kind of weird” connection that I love.