Taking the Leap

     "What if one of us is hit by a potato chip truck and can't work?  I run through a litany of diseases we could get.  An aunt died of a heart attack at forty-two, my grandmother went blind, all the ugly illnesses . . .What if an earthquake shakes down the universities where we teach?  The Humanities Building is on a list of state structures most likely to fall in a moderately sever quake.  What if the stock market spirals down? . . . What if you did not feel uncertainty?  Why not call it excitement? . . . Think: What if the sky doesn't fall?  What if it is glorious?"

     This is one of my favorite passages in Francis Mayes wonderfully written memoir, "Under the Tuscan Sun."  It is human nature to feel concern about the future.  Am I absolutely positive that everything will work out the way I hope it will?  Can anyone be absolutely positive about their plans for even next week, let alone the rest of your life?  When I read Mayes' books and Peter Mayles' books about Provence (and many others), I feel a huge reassurance that following my dream is more than just a whimsical wish.  If others have achieved it, why not I?

     This past week, an article in my "International Living" publication caught my eye.  Its title is "The Huge Rewards of Taking the Leap", by Glynna Prentice.  She left her life, apartment, job, friends, family in New York City and moved to Mexico.  Talk about a leap!  I would like to share some of that article with you in this blog post as she says so many things that I want to tell you all.

     "Maybe fate favors the bold?  Maybe we plan better when more is at stake.  Or maybe, in taking that bold leap, we leave ourselves open to all the many opportunities out there.  The world is a big place, and it's filled with promise and opportunities, if we're just willing to look."

     I must admit that I also run through all those lists of "what ifs" just like Francis Mayes.  But what's the point in that?  Instead of all the "what ifs" that are followed by something bad, I try to do all the "what ifs" followed by something wonderful.  What if I get to house sit in a medieval village with a 13th century church?  What if the village has the most wonderful market?  What if I get to spend Christmas in Paris?  What if I can find a lovely house on the Mediterranean or a farmhouse in the Pyrenees?  What if I can visit Italy as often as I like?  Those are the "What ifs" that I want to focus on.

The town of Rocamadour, France

Christmas in Paris

Farmhouse in the Pyrenees

     "Moving abroad is not a snap decision, especially as we get older.  It requires planning, organizing, and often saving up money to pull off well.  It requires doing all the evaluating of later life concerns, like healthcare and pensions, which we all do at home . . . but for another country instead.  And while some of the planning is fun, overall it's definitely more work than simply hopping on a plane."

      My list of things to do before I can even buy my plane ticket over there is growing.  It includes a visit to the French Consul in Denver to see what I need to do to get an extension on my passport, setting up a post office box here, getting a storage unit, getting Coco microchipped with the international code, getting Coco used to travel in a carrier (she is presently in training . . .me, too!), checking on how my healthcare works overseas, and the list is ever growing.  But the writer of the article goes on to say:

     "But all too often, people's biggest hurdle to making the move isn't planning and preparation.  It's simple fear - of taking a risk, of leaving the familiar, of facing the new and strange.  Fear . . . inertia . . . Too often they keep folks settling for less."

     But, as you know if you've been reading this blog from the beginning of the year, or if you knew my dad, you know that I was born with that adventure gene.  I have always looked forward to the next step on the path with excitement and anticipation, whether it was going off to college, studying in France, taking students to Europe, taking lots of people to Europe.  I love that my dad gave me that sense of adventure and longing to see what's around that bend up there.  And certainly my mom lived with that sense of future happiness.

Thank you Mom and Dad for my sense of adventure

     I look forward to the fun and challenges of living in another country.  Of seeing the medieval villages, the ancient ruins, the unfamiliar culture quirks, the wonderful cuisine, the breathtaking landscapes.  And all of that will become a part of my everyday life.  I'm quite willing to take that leap!   Here's Prentice's last paragraph in the article.  And I will leave you with this:

     "Taking a risk can bring huge rewards.  Most expats I speak to feel the same way.  Not one has said they wished they made the move later.  With the benefit of hindsight, almost all wish they'd done it sooner.  So, just do it."

     Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I really do appreciate it.  I feel like I need to thank you every time I write because I am so amazed that people actually want to read my thoughts!  Next week I'll write about "Plan C"!  So I hope you'll "tune in" next week as you follow around all those bends.  Merci!