Everything happens for a reason and I am a strong believer in the 'all things work together for good' mantra. That's how I got through the whole decommissioned ambulance debacle. And that's how I chose to get through the next hard thing that was thrown at us.

My husband lost his job.

Scott gave seventeen years of his life to a mental health facility for teenagers. A year ago, it amalgamated with Sick Kids in Toronto; slow changes ensued, ultimately resulting in the closure of a program that bettered the world and changed lives. Scott thought he would retire there. It feels like all we've known. And to have it taken away left us spinning and uncertain about the future.

Thankfully, in recognition of his many years of service, he was given a generous severance, which removed some of the urgency to immediately find a new job.

We sat down and made a list of priorities and on that list, right there between get a tune-up done on the Sonic and pump the septic tank, I wrote 'BUY A VAN'.

When our first van plan (the ambulance) fell through, we both believed it was because something better was out there waiting for us. Our initial budget had been very modest: $2000 all in. But now we found ourselves with access to a little more cash. We could expand our budget and our search. We could think about what we really wanted, and not settle for less.

It feels strange to look at the silver-lining of job loss, but it really is there if you're willing to look. If a door closes, open a window.

And that's exactly what we did.

By this time we had a clearer idea of what was out there. We knew the different styles and had a better understanding of what we really wanted.

WHAT WE HAD TO HAVE:

• seats for 5
• room to sleep 5
• storage

WHAT I REALLY WANTED:

• a sink

WHAT WE WOULD LIKE BUT WASN'T A DEAL BREAKER:

• a toilet
• enough height to stand up in
• solar power
• air conditioning 
• stove top

We set ourselves a loose budget of $6000. This wouldn't leave us 'vehicle poor' and there was enough room to go up a little if we fell in love. Not naive love like the ambulance, but real HOLY COW YOU ARE MY FUTURE love.

We approached it as an investment in our family. We have one year left with our eldest before he leaves for University. If we want this to be a family adventure, it has to happen now!

So there it is. Budget set, priorities agreed upon, and the search is on!

I was obsessed with the idea of that ambulance. It had seemed so serendipitous, reminiscing about those old make-out days then standing in the back of an ambulance, imagining being seventeen again... It was like we'd come full circle, twenty-one years later. What a story it would have made! So perfect, I was sure it would all work out.


It's silly to get so caught up in an idea. God bless our eldest son who kept telling me not to put all my hopes on the line. He's wise beyond his years. I'm a romantic fool and don't let naysayers knock me down, but when the call from the mechanic came, I felt the wind go out of my sails and I slumped in my chair like a deflated balloon.

When Scott got his first apartment, he shared it with a dude who lied a lot — but there was one thing he told the truth about: his family had an old ambulance and they were going to let him drive it to pick up crappy furniture from the Value Village in Cambridge. Fun!


Ambulances are not romantic. They are metal boxes. But when you're seventeen years old and a boy who's grown up enough to have a scratchy beard wants to kiss you in said metal box, you go along for the ride! 🥰

There was a metal table (stretcher?) but that's all that was left of the original interior fittings; so, while the liar and his girl rode up front, the kissing bandit and I snogged in the back. On a metal table. Of course, the joke was on us, because on the way home, we switched: we drove while the other couple hid in the back. With the 'new' couch. I'm sure their ambulance experience was much softer than ours. They got soft rock. We got heavy metal. 

When we began talking about a trip to Eastern Canada with extended family, purchasing a travel vehicle didn't occur to us. We were on board with the idea and discussed needing to get a roof storage system in order to take our little Sonic all the way to PEI.

It wasn't until Scott discussed the trip plans with his co-workers and someone said, "Hey, you should buy Norma's ambulance," that our vanlife journey really began.

The ambulance had been converted into a little camper with a double bed in the back and huge storage beneath. A young couple had set it up to be their sleeping quarters while tree planting in northern Ontario. It had only a driver's seat and a passenger seat, but upon seeing it, we were confident we could set it up to accommodate our family.

And they only wanted $1500 for it — a steal! We planned to use our tax return money to cover the cost of purchasing, certifying, and licensing - and then the leftover to do whatever modifications it needed for our family.

The couple who owned it hitchhiked the eight hours from Ottawa to clean it out and meet with us. Because the diesel engine had sat unused all winter we had to borrow a charger from a neighbouring farm and wait a while until it would start, but once it did... oh, that sweet growling purr.



My uncle owns a shop not far from where the ambulance had been parked, so we made arrangements with him to drop it off for a pre-safety, feeling wonderfully confident that it would need very little before we could take it into our possession.

We took the trip down Blue Mountain in the pouring rain, Scott driving the beast with Liam in the passenger seat, and me following along behind, visions of summertime and renovations dancing in my head.

"Don't get your hopes too high," Zander told me — forever the logical one, as if his seventeen years have given him wisdom he hasn't really earned. An old soul, that one.

"I know, I know," I told him. "But look at it. It's so fun!"



"I just want to take it home right now!" Scott said after he'd parked it at the shop.

I felt the same way.

We made the drive home, and then a week of obsession began. I spent hours doing drawings, trying to design the best way to seat and sleep five. I lost sleep over it because ideas were swirling through my brain.

So that was it. My heart was set.

They say you shouldn't fall in love with the first person you see, and while that's great advice, I'm a hopeless romantic. Heavy metal, remember?! 😆 


WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?...