Over the past few years we have really done a good job of living in the moment and not looking too far ahead into the future. I am not sure if Lil E on it’s way has anything to do with it, but lately I am thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead and spending a lot of time “Freaking Out.”
We have some things that have to take place in our life and they pretty much have to be done in order.
Step 1. Get Jobs
Step 2. Find our own place to live
Step 3. Collect furniture (the basics..as we only have 3 suitcases of stuff to our name)
Step 4. Save for a car
To anyone, these would seem like the normal routine way to get things done.
I on the other hand jumped the other day. I did a lot of assuming. Then, I was disappointed and Heart Broken. I know, a bit dramatic, but I will blame it on the hormones.
Here is what happened.
Tuesday, we went to see our midwife and heard Lil E’s wonderful drum beat of a heart. I was expecting both Adam and I to get job offers (I was thinking really optimistic for a change), due to some great interviews we both had.
So, after driving around in my old neighborhood full of quaint 1920’s bungalows, we found one for rent. We toured the inside and I was in love.
I was dreaming of the baby room, making the whole house kind of an old sea scape decor due to the age of the house and the windows. I saw us having BBQ’s on the back patio, the doggie playing in the fenced yard and Adam and I drinking coffee on the front porch in the morning.
I was already to get my homemade bread recipes ready, go furniture shopping online, and settle into this great new place that Adam and I could call home.
Then, reality check:
my job fell through, Adam never got his call
I got cranky, pessimistic and frustrated.
And then I remembered, Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
PS. That yard would have been great for a garden and a chicken coop!
Keep exploring
Follow along
Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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Things have a strange way of happening for a reason….Good luck and hang in there!
I totally agree, but the hanging in there can be a bit hard and frustrating!
Gosh, I’m sorry to hear about what happened. Everything always works out the way it was intended and it does usually work out for the best. It’s hard to not set expectations, but its what we do in life…I think that’s okay, learning to not get attached to the outcome and thus I think the disappointment diminishes.
Also… It’s good to plan and look ahead. When rain is going to come, bring an umbrella just in case. Nothing wrong in having multiple solutions either. xoxo