Well I think the title of this post says it all…I got a bug to get the fuck out of dodge and see some of this great big world we inhabit. I recently had a discussion with my Pops where he reminded me that despite being a good wife and mother that I need to remember that at the end of this life, its my life and that I should make sure I don’t live it for others. His words struck a chord and well for the first time in years I have allowed myself to dream, to dream of a life outside the confines of this country. A life spent traveling and living and enjoying. A life not tied down to the minutia that sometimes threatens to strangle the life out of me.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the life I have but there are days I ask myself is this it? Let’s see, I have an emotionally rewarding and socially important job that adds value to the world. I have an amazing spouse and two amazing children, one who is an adult and will be charting his own path. I have a house…you get the drift. I have all the things adults generally like to have. But I have to be honest of all the things I have ever dreamed of, a chance to travel and even live abroad has eluded me. Partly because at 18 I was a wife and soon to be mother, so I never had a chance to take to the road. I have spent my entire life since the age of 18 being responsible (mostly) but more importantly focusing on the needs of others. Even the things I did that do personally benefit me such as returning to school were about the fact that I wanted to be in a place that I could provide for my kids. So while I was personally fulfilled by that choice it was not always about me.
Now the Spousal Unit and I have often talked about retiring to Belize where we have heard Americans can live a relatively comfortable life but today it hit me…why wait until we retire? Why not take the show on the road now? Or at least as soon as we can make the plans. At first I said nah…but after spending some hours surfing around, I am starting to think it’s entirely possible. After all the Spousal Unit earns the bulk of the cash and is self-employed, he has spent 8 years in Maine working for clients who are nowhere near Maine. All he needs is high-speed internet access and a phone along with his laptop. While my job cannot be done from afar, I could go back to consulting and grant writing which could be done from afar. As you can imagine the wheels are turning…now we need to see what are great locations to set up shop for 3-6 months at a time? That’s the question we are asking ourselves…if you have any ideas I’d love to hear them.
We are also toying with the idea of even considering RV living for a bit if leaving the country for long-term living proves too tricky to navigate in the short-term, which we are defining as 1-2 years. Right now we are thinking we would still maintain our home here in Maine but I gotta say the idea of being going upwards of 6 months at a time is attractive as hell. I imagine some of you are thinking..she has gone mad! Nah, just trying to live and see the world.
So dear reader, I ask you have you ever just thought about throwing caution to the wind and heading off on a journey? If you have done anything similar to what I am proposing, I would love to hear from you, in the meantime have a fabulous weekend!
