~Mama Kat's Workshop
Hmmmm....not a whole lot!
I should have prefaced that by saying I absolutely love raising my children where we are and have never regretted giving them these past 10 years to visit grandparents, experience small town living and put down roots.
What can beat the feeling of a Friday night football game in a small town? (don't answer that!)
My husband and I grew up in this little town but we left for many years. 15 years for me to be exact. We chose to move back out of love but I'm starting to experience a problem now....
itchy feet and the yearning for adventure.
The most amazing thing about this is that I am a homebody. I'm not fond of changes in any form.
But I've had a taste of that adventure, and I lived to tell.
14 years ago we packed our belongings and children (we didn't actually pack them!) and moved to a little village outside of Zurich, Switzerland.
We lived there for 4 years....experiencing Europe on "The Toddler Tour"! Our children were 5, 3, and 5 months old when we headed back to the Old Country leaving all of our relatives (and potential babysitters) behind. So anything Denny and I saw, the kiddos also saw!
It was crazy...and I mean...Crazy with a capital C! Many stories to share about the culture shock we experienced...most of them hilarious.
But I digress.
The original question remains...What would it take for you to get up and move?Two answers...depending on the day.
Reality based: Aging parents we love, teenagers to graduate, jobs, roots that need to grow deeper for just a bit longer. We stay here.
Fantasy based: I'd be on a plane with my sweethearts in a minute....ready to breathe it all in and shine it back out. The adventure, the excitement, the growing, and the joy...even the tears and homesick moments...I'd take it all.
But for now... I will turn on the Travel Channel, mix up a mojito, slice up some Swiss cheese served with French bread.
I can have my virtual cross-cultural moments right here, right now.... until God decides it's time for us to pack 'em up and move 'em out!
That was quite an adventure with small children. I give you credit for taking the journey. I bet you have some amazing stories to tell!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post! I can't imagine your adventure. I'm only doing it with one toddler, I can't imagine 3!
ReplyDeleteWell said ... it's hard to balance the "now" of family with the desire to see and do ... Hope you can find some adventure in your own backyard! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting Snapshots!
I give you a lot of credit for picking up and moving to Zurich! What a crazy wonderful experience it must have been for you!
ReplyDeleteWow, those four years must have been a very interesting and challenging time! Would love to hear more about your experience in living in Europe. I moved to England for a while, then Ukraine for many years, then the States for over 3 years. Now back in good ole Netherlands. So I can relate to being homesick, experiencing culture shock and even re-entry shock...
ReplyDeleteLove your post.
Hopping over from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop :)
Fenny
Sounds like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteWow!! I can't even imagine what an adventure that was with the 3 little ones!
ReplyDeleteHI Kristi, thank you for your lovely comment at my post.
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed adventures...and the fact that it is so much more fun to share memories of adventures... there is always so much.
Ah the decisions we have to make as adults! Thank goodness for the travel channel and house hunters international on hgtv!
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm impressed with your flexibility because that's often what keeps me rooted in one place. Europe with kids. What a wonderful dream!
ReplyDeleteMoving is always such a step into the unknown. We moved from Texas to Virginia early in our marriage and I was terrified. But it worked out - we're still here (with one move to switch houses)
ReplyDeleteI can so relate to much of your post! Although, having moved to somewhere even more boring than our little town, I'm quite happy to be here. But, that doesn't mean I wouldn't love being somewhere else!
ReplyDelete