Where We Are Now
Friday, May 29th was supposed to be the last day of work. Instead, it's the first.
I'm not sure how many people, if any, still get alerts for this blog, but I thought it was about time I gave you all an update. Maybe I'll post it to Facebook. I probably won't.
The global pandemic has affected millions of people and I know quite a few have been dealt a far worse hand than we have. We're healthy and we're together. The weather is pretty good, but we're struggling.
As a lot of you know, we went to Spain over the holidays in December. We sold the trip as an opportunity to travel, to avoid the stress of the American holiday season, but that's only half true. It was actually a scouting trip. We were looking at three cities to see where we wanted to move.
You see, May 29th was going to be Tiffany's last day of work at the library. In a few days, we were going to travel to Texas to visit with family and then fly to Spain to begin our lives as expats.
It was all lining up perfectly, too. We had a house, the paperwork for the consulate was just about done, we knew which schools our kids were going to attend. We'd even started friendships with other expats in the neighborhood where we were going to live (Albaicin, Granada).
I'd made some real progress getting rid of those possessions we carry around, but don't really need. Whether our dinette set fits in that category is something Tiffany and I disagree on.
A few days before the virus took hold and things began locking up in the U.S., I drove to Sacramento to get some of our visa paperwork certified. I'd heard of the coronavirus, but it wasn't supposed to affect us like this.
Fast forward to May 29th.
The last couple months have been wrought with frustration and confusion. We went from wondering if our early June move would work, to hoping for the end of summer, to looking at October, or even wondering if it's June of 2021.
It's also hard not to also wonder if it's time to get back on that wheel and continue the career I've put over 15 years into. Though they might not say it to us, I know many people think this is the right call. I mean, this is what you're supposed to do. You get a job, work at it for 35 years, retire and then you travel.
Or not. Nothing's guaranteed, of course.
We were able to negotiate a three-month extension of our lease in Windsor, so we think we have that part figured out. However, with the prospect of "distance learning" for the kids, a real possibility that there will be no high school sports for me to coach, and a deep and growing desire to move on with our lives, we have far more questions than answers in regards to what the next 3 to 12 months hold.
The reasons for our desire to move overseas are many. Maybe I'll even sit down and write them up for this blog. I refuse to get into a political debate, but with each and every passing day, I feel more and more like it's time for us to leave for a little bit. This is the part where I might look America in the eyes and say, "it's not you, it's me."
Our days right now are long and short. We have good days and we have bad days. Undoubtedly how we each feel about our situation evolves. Fortunately, we see eye to eye far more than not.
I'll try to pop in here and give an update on our situation from time to time. At the risk of getting too personal (something many of you know I am very reluctant to do), I thought it would be therapeutic to express some of my thoughts. I may encourage the rest of the family to do the same.
I'm not sure how many people, if any, still get alerts for this blog, but I thought it was about time I gave you all an update. Maybe I'll post it to Facebook. I probably won't.
The global pandemic has affected millions of people and I know quite a few have been dealt a far worse hand than we have. We're healthy and we're together. The weather is pretty good, but we're struggling.As a lot of you know, we went to Spain over the holidays in December. We sold the trip as an opportunity to travel, to avoid the stress of the American holiday season, but that's only half true. It was actually a scouting trip. We were looking at three cities to see where we wanted to move.
You see, May 29th was going to be Tiffany's last day of work at the library. In a few days, we were going to travel to Texas to visit with family and then fly to Spain to begin our lives as expats.
It was all lining up perfectly, too. We had a house, the paperwork for the consulate was just about done, we knew which schools our kids were going to attend. We'd even started friendships with other expats in the neighborhood where we were going to live (Albaicin, Granada).
I'd made some real progress getting rid of those possessions we carry around, but don't really need. Whether our dinette set fits in that category is something Tiffany and I disagree on.
A few days before the virus took hold and things began locking up in the U.S., I drove to Sacramento to get some of our visa paperwork certified. I'd heard of the coronavirus, but it wasn't supposed to affect us like this.
Fast forward to May 29th.
The last couple months have been wrought with frustration and confusion. We went from wondering if our early June move would work, to hoping for the end of summer, to looking at October, or even wondering if it's June of 2021.
It's also hard not to also wonder if it's time to get back on that wheel and continue the career I've put over 15 years into. Though they might not say it to us, I know many people think this is the right call. I mean, this is what you're supposed to do. You get a job, work at it for 35 years, retire and then you travel.
Or not. Nothing's guaranteed, of course.
We were able to negotiate a three-month extension of our lease in Windsor, so we think we have that part figured out. However, with the prospect of "distance learning" for the kids, a real possibility that there will be no high school sports for me to coach, and a deep and growing desire to move on with our lives, we have far more questions than answers in regards to what the next 3 to 12 months hold.
The reasons for our desire to move overseas are many. Maybe I'll even sit down and write them up for this blog. I refuse to get into a political debate, but with each and every passing day, I feel more and more like it's time for us to leave for a little bit. This is the part where I might look America in the eyes and say, "it's not you, it's me."
Our days right now are long and short. We have good days and we have bad days. Undoubtedly how we each feel about our situation evolves. Fortunately, we see eye to eye far more than not.
I'll try to pop in here and give an update on our situation from time to time. At the risk of getting too personal (something many of you know I am very reluctant to do), I thought it would be therapeutic to express some of my thoughts. I may encourage the rest of the family to do the same.
Gosh, I hope you guys can still fulfill this dream at some point. I really want to visit you over there!
ReplyDeleteSo much admiration for your plans. I know you guys won't be happy till you are doing it. The wander lust is not an easy one to get over, trust me I know. Best of luck!
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