Days 46-53, Moving to Europe!

Feeding the beast! That's how my friend described her experience as a blogger.  She didn't mean that blogging is a chore.  She just meant that when your life is full of so many things,  it sometimes gets difficult to stay on top of your posts.  When she and I initially had that conversation, I understood where she was coming from, but I didn't fully get it.  I look forward to blogging.  Blogging frees my mind.  Clears my brain.  Keeps me focused.  Allows me to put myself first.  Holds me accountable to myself...and pushes me to be the person I can be.  Last week, however, I GOT IT!  I fully understood her statement.  I've missed a few days of blogging because I've been swamped!  I now have a free moment to release all the good things in my head!   

What has taken me away from this daily ritual that I've grown to love, you ask?  Europe.  Yep, my family and I are moving to Europe in a few short weeks!  So, I've spent the last week–you guessed it–cleaning my house and preparing for movers to come in and pack us up! What a huge task, but we'll get back to that in the next post!

We've lived here for almost seven years and in the last couple of years, we've been getting the itch to show the girls something more than the Midwest.  We love the Midwest, but it's important to us that they are not defined by boundaries, so when a job opportunity came up for my husband in Belgium, we decided to go check it out.  Remember the peeing boy from our trip to Belgium a couple of weeks ago?  We both had a great time and could see ourselves living there.  If I had any reservations about the potential move, writing this blog helped to release them.  After all, how could I write about living life to the fullest, taking risks and stepping outside my comfort zone and be against such a wonderful opportunity?  So, when we visited, I toured schools and neighborhoods and my husband checked out the business.  We both had good reports...and so the decision was made to pack up the family and move to Belgium.

As you can imagine, it is with a heavy heart that I draft this post.   After all, my family and I will be leaving a place that we have called home for almost seven years.  This is the longest my family has lived anywhere--and we leave with both sadness and excitement.   Over the next couple of years, we will all learn new languages and new cultures.  For those of you who know me well, I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise.  We've always had an admiration for languages and  a love for taking risks.

As I think back on how much I have grown as a person since I moved here, I certainly realize that this place has contributed greatly to the woman I am today.   Yes,  we've had ups and downs here - highs and lows, but the truth is that the wealth of experience and knowledge that I have gained is invaluable.  I've learned to run a successful non-profit organization.  I've gone from the aggressive days of fighting as a lawyer to the much more peaceful days of working as a mediator.  I've learned to accept people for who they are and not for who I would like them to be.    I've moved from the days of wanting to win every argument with my husband to letting him win a few(wink, wink:).  I've learned that life is about the experiences you have and not the things that you have.   I've learned that putting my family first means putting me first!  I could go on and on...

I simply didn't want to leave without saying a proper thank you to all of our friends that we leave behind,  who have made a difference in our lives.  I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You've been there in so many ways.

As my family prepares to head to Belgium, please know that although we will no longer be here, we are only a Skype Call away.  If there is ever anything I can do for any of you, please do not hesitate to email, FB, Skype, call or visit.  

Looking forward to day 54!