Off into the unknown

Closing the last chapter

13 years ago, my new husband and I drove across country to move to Eugene, Oregon. Mailing off job applications from stops along the way, I was fortunate to land a job soon after we arrived.

My first week working at the Mills International Center I promptly called in sick with swine flu (after first graciously sharing it with my new boss). It feels fitting that I just started my next big chapter with COVID! 😊  

Working at the Mills Center has been a beautiful journey. I have more stories than I can shake a stick at – and new habits, like noticing idioms I use and searching for their roots. (Unfortunately, the internet does not know where shaking a stick comes from.)  

A dream takes root

The idea seed for a nomadic life was planted while working remotely in 2020 and fleeing Oregon wildfires. After semi-impulsively bidding on and winning coaching sessions in a Sponsors Inc silent auction, Andrea Muzikant helped me come to terms with the idea of leaving a job I love: nothing has to be pushing me out of my job for something else to pull me away. My husband Brian and I then nurtured the idea with research and dreaming. Seizing another opportunity for coaching, Anjali Leon helped me stay engaged with what was most important to me throughout the transition. And things came together when Brian and I did some serious project planning!

A new chapter starts

In September we sold 90% of our belongings, I said farewell to the Mills Center, and we hit “the road.” After a stop in Missouri, we’ll head to Medellín, Colombia for 6 months. We don’t know where we’re going from there!

This change is scary and big and wonderful and thrilling. It’s outside our comfort zones, but it also makes sense for us. We’ve lived in Latin America and made big moves together. We don’t have kids or pets and Brian is able to work remotely. We didn’t own our house and we worked with an estate sale company to sell our stuff. Friends are keeping a stack of boxes and we figured out we could live with just one checked suitcase, one carry-on suitcase, and one backpack each. So, here we go. Off into the unknown.