The BIG Idea
Some of you might be wondering how the husband fits into all of this. Make no mistake – he has been a constant companion on this bumpy ride, sometimes reluctantly I’m sure. He too had been feeling some angst, but his was driven from feelings of dissatisfaction with his career. We had spent endless hours brainstorming ideas and challenging ourselves to consider new possibilities. And yet, I think the day I suggested we sell the house, quit our jobs and travel around the world for a year or two came as a wee bit of a shock to him. Yet once the idea was planted, it took hold, and we couldn’t shake it. The more we thought about it, the more firmly it became rooted in our imaginations. And so, Plan A was born……and then the doubts and fear set in.
As we seriously contemplated what it would mean to follow this plan – to exchange our safe, predictable, comfortable lives for a nomadic lifestyle, an interesting process began. Fears began to surface – both the rational and irrational kind. Doubts set in. Emotions were triggered. Our attachments and our insecurities, our fears – of making a mistake, of being a failure – all come to the fore. All of this and we were only talking about it – we hadn’t even decided to do it yet! We talked through each fear and doubt, and expressed each emotion as it arose…..this was exhausting work! But what insights we gained about ourselves and each other.
We gave ourselves a month to decide. This was a self-imposed deadline with some practical rationale behind it. If we were doing this, we would want to sell the house in the spring market. Before we did that, we would need some time to get the house ready. It was simple math that lead to the decision deadline. And so we took a month to hash everything out, turning things inside out and upside down, looking at the idea from all angles. As the end of the month drew near, we vacillated between yes and no on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. Yes, I’m certain we should do this, only to be followed by, hmmm, maybe selling the house is a little extreme. And then, on January 30th, one full day before our deadline, we looked at each other and we both said Yes with a certainty that defied reason. And so it was decided……or so we thought……little did we know that Plan B was lurking around the corner. read more