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| The Dawlish Warren Red Rock |
The theme of the past two months is simple: WE DO CRAZY S#!T.
Sorry for the profanity, but I don’t think “STUFF” works in this case. We’ve
tried to live the last year to the utmost and in the process, have tried out,
agreed to, failed and occasionally succeeded at so many new experiences.
We’ve realized that most people who decide to live abroad do
so when they are single, when both spouses are teachers and can find employment
easily, or when one spouse or both has a profession that facilitates (and pays for)
this transition. We don’t fall into any of those categories and it was
painfully obvious throughout the year.
The fact that we moved here with only what we could carry
was, in itself, a bit insane. I didn’t meet one family the entire year that
attempted the same feat. If a family moved, they had a shipment. Of course
singles just moved with a few bags, that’s understandable. But, I don’t think
we realized the importance of establishing a “home” in a new place so quickly.
One or all of us flew or drove to/from another country every
single month except for September. June had international travel for Dave while
the rest of us concentrated on finishing up school and packing our bags once
again. The countries we hit (in order) during our one year abroad: Germany
(Dave), U.S. (the VISA debacle), France (Amanda), France, Belgium, Wales, Spain, France (Amanda),
Malta, France, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, Wales, Greece (Dave), France,
Belgium, Spain (Balearic Islands). You can see we had some favorites.
I’m leaving out the
trips Dave took back to the U.S. for work and the 16 hr. trip I took back to
check out our new house.
That makes three new countries for Amanda, seven new
countries for Dave, six for K1, and eight for K2 since he gets to count England.
What other crazy $#!T have we done?
Well, we bought a house on-line. I’m serious. Dave and I had
a few beers on Friday night, checked Trulia for the millionth time, and low and
behold a brand new listing caught us by surprise. We knew instantly it was the
place for us and the six-hour time difference worked in our favor. Within 24
hours, our realtor had done a
walk-through, we got pre-approved, submitted an offer with a very well-written
letter (by me), and had Dave’s family take time to visit the property as well.
The offer was submitted on a Saturday morning and it was accepted first thing
on Sunday. Seriously. Dave’s parents were nervous and didn’t want us to go
through with the deal…but it was too late…we were in too deep. I enjoyed
Mother’s Day in the air so I could see the property for 1 hour after the
inspection was completed to verify that this was indeed the home for us. We
closed on June 29th and now own a home that Dave and I have been in
a total of 2 hours between the two of us. Yep, that’s crazy.
What else? Oh yeah, we became reality TV stars by filming
our very own episode of House Hunters
International. 5 days straight of filming and it was definitely an
experience we’ll never forget even if we wanted to. I can’t say much more than
that because I signed a non-disclosure, but stay tuned. I’ll let you know when
it will air.
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| Palmanova, Majorca (Mallorca) |
For our finale, we decided to forgo the escape to Mexico that
we had originally planned for July and, instead, shore up our tricky tax status
(we basically needed to stay out of the US for the month of July) in Europe
instead. We realized that we can visit Mexico easily from the States, but
exploring Great Britain and Europe as a family won’t be possible again for a
very, very long time. Our lease
was up at the end of June and we became homeless. Travellers.
Gypsies. Call it what you will, but for some reason it sounded okay. Crazy,
but okay. We often didn’t know where we would be staying just a few nights
before, but we have managed.
We spent a week in Majorca
where the kids improved their swimming skills, a few nights here and there at
random hotels near the Luton Airport and Legoland,
Windsor, and five nights in a trailer park on the South shores of Devon, often
called the English
Riviera.
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| Dartmouth, UK |
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| Caravan Park, Dawlish |
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| Coleton Fishacre, Devon |
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| First Aid, Legoland, Windsor (but a flesh wound) |
And now we are living in a stranger’s big and beautiful Surrey
house for two weeks. We can’t believe our luck. We get to hang out with an
awesome German
Short-haired Pointer named Otis, water some plants, and still explore the
area. This was a win-win.
Or at least I thought it was a win until last night after
reading Paddington for the 100th time, K2 responded to the last line
by asking, “Mommy, what IS a home?”
Ouch.
We’ve got a day in Iceland planned at the Blue Lagoon during our layover, and then
we hope to be settling into our new home the first week in August which is
almost exactly one year from the day we left the U.S. Ooooh…I just realized
that Iceland adds another country for all of us. We’ve flown through several
times, but this will be the first time out and about. Another win!
We’ve made a million mistakes this year, but with each
mistake comes a lesson and even better than learning from mistakes is the
learning that came from our willingness to try new things. Our kids are amazing
and have weathered the changes like pros. It was the most challenging year
we’ve ever had in regards to our marriage, our personal and professional goals
and routines, and working through changes as a family. No regrets though. I
would make the same decision all over again.
We’re definitely ready to settle down and stop living out of
suitcases, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop doing crazy $#!T.
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| Coleton Fishacre, Devon, U.K. |
