We are really doing this!!!?! (And, why now...)

September 1, 2010

It actually seems surreal. Sure, “taking a year off” is something we have talked about for as long as we can remember but I don’t know if we ever thought it would actually happen. So, why now? The kids are old enough but not too old (they still want to hang out with us), we need to find a bigger place to live and haven’t found the right spot yet, all are healthy and able to go, and, if not now, then when? One thing we know for sure was that when we are old and reliving our life story, a year’s adventure belongs in it. If we don’t go, we will regret it.

We love our life in San Francisco and our friends and activities. Our life is great – full of nonstop events, celebrations, sports, plays, dinners, beach trips, weekends in Tahoe, great jobs, close to family, etc. Really, there is nothing to complain about. As crazy as it sounds, we just want a break from all of this ‘wonderfulness’ and a chance to hog our boys and be together as a family without a schedule or a day’s grid of carpools and activities and to just do what we want when we want because that is what we feel like doing that day.

So, without overthinking it too much (because that is the sure recipe to cancel the trip) we started clearing out our house, unwinding our responsibilities, looking into travel plans, insurance and visa requirements, redirecting our mail, putting our stuff in storage, making a packing list and sharing the news.

Fortunately, the kids were excited (and a bit nervous) and eager to have a family adventure. The week before we left was pretty intense with not only final preparations but also a trip to the ER for Brock, last minute dentist appointment which almost resulted in oral surgery for Nate and the flu passing through the family. Amazingly, we still got on our flight with the much appreciated encouragement and help of our friends and colleagues.

It was tough to leave the “known” behind including our many security blankets of family, our dear Rigo, friends, predictable schedules and a great school. Something told us this trip is the right thing to do and so we are off and headed to Alicante, Spain to see what the next week has in store…