I may not be so brave to go into completely unchartered territory, but I do believe in deviating from a well worn path and determining our own, wherever that may lead us. One of the many things that my husband and I bonded over while dating was our love of travel and adventure. Ten years ago we left our friends and family in Boston and moved to Washington, D.C., knowing virtually no one and have little more than a tentative job offer to rely on. Our intention at the time was to spend some time in the area and then move abroad.

One year turned into two, our family of two became a family of three…then through the blessing of our twin daughters became a family of five very quickly. In what seemed like a flash of time was now a decade and four homes later. During that period our love of travel never faltered. We made the decision to get married in Mexico and share that love of exploring with our loved ones. I was fortunate through my job to travel to Thailand, Dubai, Germany, and Jordan. As a couple we traveled to Grand Cayman, Barbados and Italy and as a family had traveled to Ireland. Each trip fueled our passion more and a favorite pastime was dreaming and planning of where we would go next.

Our desire to live abroad still burned despite how much time had passed and how many members we had added to our family. In fact, it was because of our children that we became more determined to make it a reality. Living in D.C. we encounter so many people who have lived and raised their families overseas. The opportunities that are available to the kids such as learning languages, being exposed to different cultures, traveling to places they never would otherwise…these were all things we desired for our children. So you would think that when an opportunity to move to Germany came our way this spring, we would have jumped at the opportunity! We did, sort of. The fact of the matter is that we had just moved into a new house just over a year before. We love our home, we love our friends but after a long discussion realized that it is the right time. Both the house, and hopefully our friends, will be here when we get back but if we wait any longer, it may never happen.

And here we are today. A month from tomorrow we will on a plane bound for Wiesbaden, Germany. I wish I could say that the process from the decision this spring to present was painless – it emphatically was not, and I am afraid that’s just a glimpse of what’s to come. But even as the stress sets in of registering our son for school, making sure the dogs vaccinations records are current, figuring out what we are shipping and what is staying, and on and on…there is the moment of satisfaction that the path we dreamed for ourselves as a couple so long ago is now becoming a reality, and I cannot wait to see where that leads!