photo by LolaArtland
I was just remembering how about 6 months ago I was at WDS2012 in Portland, OR, surrounded by brave, artistic & independent thinkers who were either living life on their own terms, or there to find out how to do just that. I was there to try to learn something-anything-that would help me figure out what I really wanted out of life and how to go about making that happen. My husband was there to support me. At the time we were living in San Francisco, I wasn’t working, and he was working for a big silicon valley tech company. What I got out of the conference was that travel and seeing the world is something that I really want, but I want to settle down and do the family thing too. The question was born- can I do both? I realized that I want to pursue writing in some way, though I still had no idea what I wanted to write. What my hubs took away from WDS was, and still is, a real appreciation & desire for living simply. He was totally digging the notion of a minimalist lifestyle. I dig that too. He also realized that working 12 hour days and traveling every other month for 2-3 weeks at a time was not his ideal situation and therefore decided he wanted to work on changing it. We went back to San Francisco inspired and motivated to make some changes.
Fast forward to the present day and what do you find? We’ve made some pretty darn good moves in the direction of our dreams. And as I was laying here in my bed tonight, I realized that we’ve really done something incredible for ourselves. We left a situation (and in some ways are still in the process of doing so) that wasn’t serving us well. San Francisco is a phenomenal city, and I cannot wait to go back for a visit. But, it wasn’t the right place for us. And now we’re in Germany (after a 4 week long US road trip adventure might I add), living temporarily in his hometown, while we get situated in the south where was really want to be. He is still looking for a new work situation and continues to work for the same company for a few more weeks. I have hired a writing coach (also a WDSer!) who will help me discover if writing is the right path for me. We still have some figuring out to do and some changes to make, but hell, we’ve come a long way fast. And I am so proud of us! I really am. It suddenly clicked for me tonight… I am really here. I live in Europe! And living in Europe has been a lifelong dream for me. My parents were born in Poland and I’ve been desperate for decades now to come and explore my heritage and family history. To see where my parents played as children in the school yard, and where my grandmother & grandfather married, to walk the route the family took to the market & to visit the grave site of the grandfather that I never got to meet. It’s really like a dream that I am just waking up to, not from.
So here I am, suddenly aware of the reality I find myself in, and I am elated.
