Photo: Courtesy Karen Akpan
Courtesy Karen Akpan
What was your journey to having the family life you have today?I met my husband when I was a senior in college. We dated for about two years, and then on our second anniversary, he proposed. Once we got married, we planned on having six kids.
I always wanted to have a big family. I have a little sister who is about 12 years younger, and we’re super close but I’ve always wanted siblings who are closer in age. When we purchased our first home, we had six picture frames ready, I kid you not. In my mind, it was going to happen.
Why did you decide to sell your house and live in an RV?We sold our home and purchased an RV, all in February 2020. We made this decision because we were drowning in debt, and I want my son to come out of school and not have to worry about student loans like I did.
Our goal became to build generational wealth, pay off all our debt, spend more time together and to travel more because that’s what we’re really passionate about. With our mortgage and bills, it was really hard for us to save, so this was the best decision for us.
We’ve traveled with Aiden since he was about six months, so that’s literally all he knows. Once we said, “We’re getting an RV,” he was so excited.
Did you know anyone who had done something like this, or was this something completely new that you had to figure out?Completely new. People thought we were crazy. A lot of Black people don’t RV, and we’re of African descent. I do not know an African who has an RV, and I’m not even exaggerating. This was us stepping out on faith and saying, “Hey, we’re going to figure this out as a family and we’re going to make it work.”
Was the pandemic also a factor for living a nomadic lifestyle?Honestly, it was what you call happenstance. We made the decision to RV before the pandemic got more serious, which ended up being perfect timing.
Was The Mom Trotter travel blog something you always had or did you ramp it up once you started your RV journey?I’ve hadThe Mom Trotterfor about five years now, but once we hit the road, I knew it could be a good source of income for us. I told myself that we’ve got to work on it. We have to keep pushing to see how we can get better at our craft so we can make enough income.
Now, we run it full-time. My goal with the blog has always been to help educate families on how they can travel on a budget, handle their finances and homeschool their kids from my firsthand experiences and things I’ve learned along the way.
I remember asking in another travel group one time about booking an Airbnb that kept canceling on me. Everybody was like, “I have no issues. That’s never happened to me.” Then I post to Black Kids Do Travel and everyone’s like, “Oh, I’ve been to that city before. I tried to book and they will not book my Airbnb unless I use another person’s profile picture as mine.” It made it clear to me how different traveling is for Black people and people of color because of the issues we have to deal with. BKDT is a place where we can share our experiences so we can help and uplift each other.
Do you see yourself and your family ever moving back into a house or do you think this is the life for you for a while?This is the life for us for a while, I know that for sure. We may slow down a little bit, like spend a month or two in one spot here and there, but I don’t see us changing our lifestyle anytime soon.
How did your upbringing influence your parenting style?Growing up in an African home is interesting. My mom was very gentle, which is not the norm for the average African parent. It was a bit different in my home because my mom never really spanked or hit me. If there was something going on, she would talk to me about it. One thing I hated to do was disappoint my mom. Looking back, I learned that you don’t have to yell or be angry in order for your child to respect and listen to you.
What’s your favorite thing about parenting?Everything. I love watching him grow. Every year it’s something new and something exciting that he’s into. Just being able to be his mom is such a blessing.
What’s the hardest part?The hardest part was finding childcare. I could never find reliable childcare when Aiden was younger and that was one of the things that motivated me to figure out what I could do so I could raise him.
One time I came to pick him up early and the daycare lady had him sitting in the front seat of her car. I freaked out so bad. Those moments for me when he was younger were so stressful, and I felt like I was losing it all the time.
Things have changed now so I want to make sure that he’s on the right path, especially him being a Black boy. He has long hair and sometimes it looks like locs, and people have such a perception of boys who look like him. I worry sometimes, and I hope that people don’t see him and automatically assume that he’s this or that, and they can see him for who he really is.
What’s the best advice you can share with new parents?Trust your instincts as a parent and know that you know what’s best for your child.
What would you want your child to say about you as a parent?He’s really young right now but as an adult, if he were to look back on his life and know that his father and I did everything for him with his best interest in mind, it would make me so happy.
source: people.com
