I am not quite sure where to even begin this story, but you know how sometimes life opens doors and you aren’t quite sure why or where they will take you, and you just take a leap of faith?
Well, that’s about where this story begins.
I think that Covid changed us all, made us all start to question life and the norms by which we live. I think it made us all realize that life is short. And, we are no exception.
My husband, a future statistic in my children’s 8th grade history book about the great resignation, quit his stable corporate job to pursue a different career. And, as a result, at the beginning of the summer, we found ourselves untethered to a place for the first time in seemingly a decade. And for the first time, we were able to talk seriously about what “untethered” could look like for us as a family of 5.
Long talks into the wee hours of the night and we thought, what if for one year, we jumped all in? What if we capitalized on this small window in life when our kids were the right ages and our careers would allow us? What if we sold our house, our cars, our things, and took the adventure of a lifetime? What if we actually jumped at the chance to do something different for a brief moment? What if we colored outside of the lines? What if we took our family abroad and exposed them to new things and places and helped us all gather perspective and make core memories as a family? Are we crazy? Can we make this happen?
And, it snowballed.
We started with schooling for our kids. 3 am google searches for international schools in Europe, multiple emails and applications later, and our girls are accepted into a school in Barcelona. Then, housing was next. 3 am google searches for housing in Barcelona and emails and calls later and we found an apartment in Barcelona. Within 48 hours we had found schools and an apartment -- all in Barcelona.
(Now, If you know me, you know I am big on signs. I have kissed the clock every time I catch 11:11 since I was 20 years old. So, this part of the story still gives me goosebumps, and maybe always will.)
The next day after we had found the schools and apartment in Barcelona, I was spinning. Are we really going to take this leap of faith and move our family abroad to a country I have never been to? That night I went to a work event and I sat next to a gentleman, a conversation ensued and I said to him, “I don’t know why I am telling you this, and please don’t tell anyone, but as of yesterday, we are considering moving to Barcelona.” He says to me, “Wow, if you do, you have to meet my best friend’s wife who lives there. She has an amazing real estate company there.” Later on in the conversation, he pulls out his phone to show me an apartment he had just seen his friend’s wife post in Barcelona, and it was the apartment I had emailed about 24 hours prior. Goosebumps.
Shaken and giddy all at once, I rush home to tell my husband the story. It was the confirmation we both needed to jump through the open door. It was the sign we needed.
So, three months later, and here we are one week away from moving. We sold our house, we sold most of our furniture, and we are packing our lives into fifteen duffle bags. I type this with every possible emotion. I have never been more terrified and simultaneously never felt more alive. I am just letting myself be in uncertainty. I am overwhelmingly grateful and privileged for the opportunity to do this, and I am scared to give up the comfort of the known for the discomfort of the unknown. But, as I pack up this life for now, I am excited and humbled about the perspective we will all gain, the people we will meet, and the amount we will all grow, the language we will learn, and the fear we will overcome, and of course, the tapas we will eat.
It is exciting to step out of the box and write a different story in our life, even if for a little while. We are just jumping through that open door, and I am excited to share the journey along the way.
the excited/ terrified/ inspired/expat/new BCN resident for now, DL
