🚌 Love on Wheels (Part 2): The Road and the Reckoning

The road after the build — full of hope, uncertainty, and raw beauty

After the build came the open road — and with it, a different kind of work.

I thought once the bus was finished, everything would fall into place. I’d be free. I’d be living the dream.

And in some ways, I was — waking up to sunrises in new places, meeting kindred spirits, creating art out of raw moments.

But freedom has a weight, too.

The sanctuary I built, even when it felt like a beautiful trap

Being alone with your dreams means being alone with your doubts.

There were moments of magic — quiet morning coffees parked beneath trees, selling my work to strangers who became friends, finding the strength to keep going even when everything felt uncertain.

And there were moments that broke me.

One of the hard days. These happened more than I imagined.

Flat tires. Blown fuses. Lonely nights in strange towns.

Times I didn’t know where I’d park next or how I’d make enough to get to the next event.

Times I questioned everything — my choices, my worth, my path.

I’d stare at the walls I built with my own hands and wonder if I had built a beautiful trap instead of a sanctuary.

But each time I fell apart, something — some grace — would come through.

A sale when I needed it most.

A message from someone saying my work had touched them.

A song on the radio that felt like it was written just for me.

I met people who felt like pieces of home.

And I saw parts of myself I didn’t know existed — the fierce parts, the soft parts, the parts that refused to give up.

Living on the road demanded everything: trust, resilience, creativity, and an ability to keep choosing myself

It wasn’t all beautiful. But it was real. And it was mine.

This chapter taught me that the road doesn’t always lead where you think it will.

But if you listen — really listen — it will lead you exactly where you need to go.