About Daph and Ern

Have you ever thought “I need to get away”? Have you had those days, those moments, when everything seems mundane and pointless?

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I have.

 

Do you immerse yourself in social media and crappy reality TV to escape the drudgery, but in the process, get caught up in the envy of not having the life everyone else seems to be living? Do you hate your job, a job you once loved? Is your life boring, but you avoid going out and doing something interesting because you can’t be bothered? The housework is never ending; the kids don’t pull their weight…

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That was me.

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I was at the pinnacle of my prime (according to the rules of society). I was happily married to the man of my dreams, I lived in a lovely house, and I had a great career. My children were all grown up and doing well for themselves. Everything was peachy. Why then did I have an overwhelming feeling that something was missing?

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Is this all there is? What more is there to achieve? Do I now spend the next half of my life just plodding along with the rat race until I die? What’s the point?

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What is the point?

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My husband and I would wake up in the mornings and immediately delve into deep and meaningful conversations about what’s wrong with the world today, how “the good old days” were much simpler, how the youth of today are lost, etc. You know the kind of conversation. We’ve all had them. Just whinging about the general state of affairs, and how we could do a better job if we ran the world. It comes from a place of well-meaning. But moaning about what’s wrong with the world doesn’t fix it, even if it does include a great solution, such as putting me in charge. I’d make a freaking awesome Prime Minister, President, or Badass Queen. Dancing would be compulsory. Besides the point. I now know that complaining about something just charges the battery of negativity, which is not the best way to start your day. Getting out of bed on the wrong side never ends well. You’re bound to step on a foot-crippling piece of Lego.

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One morning, following our synopsis of “Wrong Town”, we discussed how we’d love to run away. How cool would it be to have a campervan and go off-grid to get away from it all? I don’t recall how we got onto the subject. The Universe probably downloaded the idea to disrupt the stream of negativity… 

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“Hey, you two! Stop whinging. Word up, there’s some awesome shit in this world, too. How about Volkswagen Kombis for a start? Cute as bloody buttons. Get yourself one!”

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Just for fun, we thought we’d look online to check out the going rate for a campervan. There happened to be a cute 1976 Volkswagen Kombi for sale not far from where we lived. It looked perfect for us. We love all things retro. And who doesn’t love a Kombi? Before you know it, we were going to take a look, falling in love with it, and buying it before the week was through. It was a little burst of excitement in an otherwise routine life, a flash of hope, a lift of spirits. Retail therapy on a grander scale. Who knew it was going to lead to a journey of self-discovery and a whole new understanding of life?                

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So, who are Daph and Ern?

 

They’re our alter egos. A cranky old couple that we would morph into to experience the world through the eyes of judgement and frustration, with a humorous twist. I started a blog on social media called Daph and Ern’s Adventures. It was originally designed to entertain friends and family with our tales of hardship on the road, hoping to add a little laughter to their boredom whilst scrolling through. Daph and Ern cooped up in a campervan was sure to be hilarious. But it also ended up being a massive period of growth.

 

We learned so much and wanted to share our experiences to encourage others to do the same. We created a small following and hopefully inspired a few others to follow in our footsteps; to quit their day job and chase their dreams. As a by-product, we also realised that Daph and Ern were a great tool for self-reflection and personal growth. There were big lessons to be learned by observing our own behaviour from the perspective of a third party. I wanted to share them to help everyone to live their best life.