Daily Inspiration: Meet Gretchen Watson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gretchen Watson.

Hi Gretchen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
We are a family of 7 that sold it all to travel full-time in our RV in March of 2019 and follow our dreams. After two difficult births, we became foster-to-adopt parents and over the course of 9 years, adopted three children. After the completion of the final adoption, we knew it was time for a change of jobs and pace of life. Fostering and adoption are not easy emotionally and now that we were a family of 7, we felt it was time to create a life where we could grow relationally as a family. We left our job of ministerial work and began pursuing a nomadic life.

After experiencing foster care for ourselves, we felt the desire to see a change and began the non-profit Frontline Family Advocacy Group to provide services to foster and adoptive families with the hope of making things a little less stressful while they advocate for vulnerable placements in their care. We travel all over making memories and bonding with our kids ages 15-8 while providing services like legal counsel, needs for placements, or just encouragement to families in foster care especially in the state of MS.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Our journey has definitely not been an easy one. We learned quickly that living tiny on the road comes with challenges such as breakdowns, repairs, and just finding time for self-care. The best advice for those getting started on the road is to learn how to repair things yourself.

This will save you tons of money and save you the headache of waiting on a long wait list for repairs. We also have learned that maintenance is a must as well. We make sure to do seasonal maintenance on our RV to help prevent things like leaks and tire blowouts on our journeys.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
During our travels, I began a love for creating content on social media. After a few years of posting here and there, I chose two years ago to pursue it as a passion. Now I create videos, especially with helpful information like how-to’s, product reviews, or destination must-sees for RVers and nomads like myself. My goal is to share tips and tricks to make Rv life easier as well as share destinations worth visiting and tips on where to stay and what to do in those areas.

I work hard and continue to be dedicated to seeing my community grow and bond as I share about our life and they get to know us better. I feel being genuine and real, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly, sets me apart. We can all romanticize this lifestyle and while it is beautiful and serene, it’s also work.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We learned that life is too short to live a life you don’t enjoy. We can all strive to make tons of money and go to work for it every day, but be miserable. I don’t want to live a life that makes me miserable. If the crisis taught me anything, it’s to take the risk and live a life that you love while you are here on this earth.

That’s what we have dedicated our lives which is to pursue and show a life we love and enjoy waking up to every day. That looks different for everyone, but money isn’t the joy of life, making memories are.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheMindfulNomadic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themindfulnomadic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GretchenGib
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themindfulnomadic?_t=8WqODVO6jNu&_r=1