How Did This Happen?
The questions I have been getting the most lately are 1) how did this happen? And 2) who would want to do that? Question one is much easier to articulate and actually plays a large part in the second answer, so let's start there.
In May, my husband and I went to Italy for 16 glorious, sunny, wine filled days. We drank coffee on balconies overlooking the most spectacular sights I've ever seen. We ate and laughed through course after course with strangers turned friends. We slept for hours on end and woke when we wanted to, not when little voices asked for warm milk or help changing soaked sheets. It was heavenly. Though we had some things planned, we mostly had no agenda and leisurely wandered the streets of Rome, Florence and Cortona finding hidden treasures and secret book shops. We spent an entire afternoon in the Boboli Gardens eating a picnic, drinking cold white wine, and watching the beautiful Italian people. We read in the late afternoon sun overlooking the Italian Riviera in Cinque Terre until it became too dark to see the pages and then found a cafe to eat linguine with clams and muscles. In Lake Como, we wandered through gardens that looked as though they were painted by Monet and ate grapefruit gelato in the shadows of the Alps. We loved everything about Europe- the cobblestone streets, the perfect cappuccinos, the history, culture, and hearing different languages all around you. I knew I wanted my boys to experience this. I wanted them to grow up seeing that not everyone is the same. Not everyone has the same beliefs, the same food, the same language. We come from a very homogeneous area of the South and most people here live the same life their parents did. And it's a great life in a great town. But I wanted them to see that there are other lives to live and other ways of thinking.
In May, my husband and I went to Italy for 16 glorious, sunny, wine filled days. We drank coffee on balconies overlooking the most spectacular sights I've ever seen. We ate and laughed through course after course with strangers turned friends. We slept for hours on end and woke when we wanted to, not when little voices asked for warm milk or help changing soaked sheets. It was heavenly. Though we had some things planned, we mostly had no agenda and leisurely wandered the streets of Rome, Florence and Cortona finding hidden treasures and secret book shops. We spent an entire afternoon in the Boboli Gardens eating a picnic, drinking cold white wine, and watching the beautiful Italian people. We read in the late afternoon sun overlooking the Italian Riviera in Cinque Terre until it became too dark to see the pages and then found a cafe to eat linguine with clams and muscles. In Lake Como, we wandered through gardens that looked as though they were painted by Monet and ate grapefruit gelato in the shadows of the Alps. We loved everything about Europe- the cobblestone streets, the perfect cappuccinos, the history, culture, and hearing different languages all around you. I knew I wanted my boys to experience this. I wanted them to grow up seeing that not everyone is the same. Not everyone has the same beliefs, the same food, the same language. We come from a very homogeneous area of the South and most people here live the same life their parents did. And it's a great life in a great town. But I wanted them to see that there are other lives to live and other ways of thinking.
We had already been looking for alternative lives for a while. We home school and from that I had joined WorldSchooling groups on FaceBook and read family travel blogs for years. I had Pinterest boards with far away locations, travel tips, and budget destinations. J and I both started looking for ways to quit our life and go travel. I am a nurse and my husband is an aerospace engineer, neither of which lend themselves to being location independent. I had started the process to get a nursing license in the UK and J was scouring websites looking for openings. We began to talk about moving abroad to everyone we knew. Have friends who lived in Spain? We what to take them to lunch. You traveled abroad for 6 months? Let me buy you coffee and tell me about it. Work from home? Please give me the scoop. After Italy, we knew we were ready to make it happen at all cost. In a book about travel nursing, I saw that you didn't need a special nursing license to work on a military base. Jackpot! On a whim, I decided to check the site www.usajobs.gov and search for neonatal units. There were a few openings stateside, but one in Germany. Without thinking too much about it, I submitted my resume- I have since heard it's better to keyword your resume when applying for a government job, but I literally had zero knowledge about the process at that time- uploaded a cover letter and went back to fixing the PB&J lunches for the boys. A few days later I received an automated email saying I met the qualifications for the job and they were forwarding my resume onto a hiring manager. She sent an email later that week and scheduled a phone interview.
The interview was about an hour long, with several people on the phone. They asked mostly about my nursing background, reasons for looking to go abroad, and future plans. They wanted to know my certifications and special interests in nursing. We chatted about the importance of breastfeeding education and if I would feel comfortable leading community groups about breastfeeding - something I would LOVE to do. All in all, it was one of the best interviews I'd had. They were easy to talk to, informative about the unit and positive about my experience. We hung up, I wrote a quick thank you email to the unit director and then I called J and we did a happy dance together.
Fast forward about two months. Since I hadn't heard back from Germany, I assumed that I hadn't gotten the job. We were disappointed, but determined to keep looking for ways to get overseas. I was on my way to my parent's house on afternoon with a van full of my kids when a foreign number popped up on my cell phone. It was HR from Landsthul Regional Medical Center (LRMC) calling to offer me the position in the unit!! I literally pulled over onto the side of the road and hissed at my kids to be quiet in order to hear what he said. I think I made him repeat the sentence three or four times. He said that the offer would be emailed to me the next day ( Friday) and if I had any questions for him, his contact information would be in the email. I hung up and was in shock. I cemented that moment in my brain because I knew it was the start of a new chapter for us.
As for why we want to step out of the "normal" flow of life: the little league games, BUNCO nights, the school drop-offs, the hurryhurry of every day American life, that's not a simple answer. We love our life now. We love being close to family and friends we've known our whole lives. We love our big, spacious house and backyard. We love Target and Sams. And yet. It's the and yet that we have felt tugging at the corners of our brains for the last few years. The feeling like there might be something different, something more fulfilling out there for us. I hate that J gets up, goes to work, and doesn't see us again until it's dark. I hate that every night we have to hustle to practice or meetings and every morning we start it all over again like Groundhog Day. I hate that everyone in my kids classes look exactly the same. I want to slow things down. Walk to the bakery and choose fresh bread in the morning and then head to the butcher and green grocer for that day's meals. I want to travel to new countries every month and see new cultures. I want the kids to see buildings that are more than just 200 years old. I want them to be able to study the Roman gladiators and then jump on a train and see the Colosseum. I want our family to have more days together than apart. We are beyond excited to see what the next few months and years hold for us and for the fact that we are doing this adventure together.
The interview was about an hour long, with several people on the phone. They asked mostly about my nursing background, reasons for looking to go abroad, and future plans. They wanted to know my certifications and special interests in nursing. We chatted about the importance of breastfeeding education and if I would feel comfortable leading community groups about breastfeeding - something I would LOVE to do. All in all, it was one of the best interviews I'd had. They were easy to talk to, informative about the unit and positive about my experience. We hung up, I wrote a quick thank you email to the unit director and then I called J and we did a happy dance together.
Fast forward about two months. Since I hadn't heard back from Germany, I assumed that I hadn't gotten the job. We were disappointed, but determined to keep looking for ways to get overseas. I was on my way to my parent's house on afternoon with a van full of my kids when a foreign number popped up on my cell phone. It was HR from Landsthul Regional Medical Center (LRMC) calling to offer me the position in the unit!! I literally pulled over onto the side of the road and hissed at my kids to be quiet in order to hear what he said. I think I made him repeat the sentence three or four times. He said that the offer would be emailed to me the next day ( Friday) and if I had any questions for him, his contact information would be in the email. I hung up and was in shock. I cemented that moment in my brain because I knew it was the start of a new chapter for us.
As for why we want to step out of the "normal" flow of life: the little league games, BUNCO nights, the school drop-offs, the hurryhurry of every day American life, that's not a simple answer. We love our life now. We love being close to family and friends we've known our whole lives. We love our big, spacious house and backyard. We love Target and Sams. And yet. It's the and yet that we have felt tugging at the corners of our brains for the last few years. The feeling like there might be something different, something more fulfilling out there for us. I hate that J gets up, goes to work, and doesn't see us again until it's dark. I hate that every night we have to hustle to practice or meetings and every morning we start it all over again like Groundhog Day. I hate that everyone in my kids classes look exactly the same. I want to slow things down. Walk to the bakery and choose fresh bread in the morning and then head to the butcher and green grocer for that day's meals. I want to travel to new countries every month and see new cultures. I want the kids to see buildings that are more than just 200 years old. I want them to be able to study the Roman gladiators and then jump on a train and see the Colosseum. I want our family to have more days together than apart. We are beyond excited to see what the next few months and years hold for us and for the fact that we are doing this adventure together.
This is beautifully written! I am so excited for you guys, and while I will miss you dearly, I know you guys will love your time overseas. Just don't forget to visit every once in awhile!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun adventure for your family. I look forward to reading updates from you!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you and your family! I know this will be a wonderful experience for all of you!
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