Pulling the Trigger

Once you pull the trigger, you can't go back or undo what you've done.  The bullet has left the gun and the outcome is sealed.

My wife and I have pulled the trigger on a dream.  Ever since becoming teachers, and independently of each other, we've wanted to live and work abroad for an extended period of time.

As a hunter, we hesitated for some time before making this decision, waiting for the exact right moment to make the frightening, life shaking decision to do something different. Several years ago we thought about it, but knew we needed to establish our careers. Then we thought we should establish our families and homes.  We've always had an excuse to put off our dream another year.  Don't get me wrong, we've been comfortable and happy in waiting.  We've got great careers, a great home, and the most amazing friends and families we could ever hope for.  But our dreams still nagged us.  Recently we realized that if we didn't fire the gun, the dream would slip away, becoming a regret.  That is something neither of us are prepared for.

So, with our new son in tow, we've pulled the trigger on our long overdue dream.  I submitted and received approval of my request for leave, Kate's left her job, and Jaden's ready for whatever comes his way (he's an infant, he simply follows the breast milk).  We're headed to Chile to live, work and play for a year.  We're leaving behind much to be desired and something we're not prepared to lose.  We think we are simply taking an extended journey, fully expecting to return to the life we've created in Santa Barbara.  However, we're reentering the stream of life and nobody, not even us, knows where this current will take us.

As with any dream, making the decision to go for it is both the hardest and one of the most liberating experiences you can feel.  Kate and I are excited, nervous, overwhelmed and overjoyed by the shear immensity of this seemingly small decision in a lifetime of decisions.  I for one, feel more alive in this decision than I've felt for some time.  We are off on an adventure, not knowing the outcome and really up to explore the opportunities that will fall before us.

The object of this blog is to document the nuances and adventures of traveling with my family and to share them with whomever reads the blog.  My hope is that students, family and friends find this blog entertaining and informative.  If not, oh well, it's my diary and you don't have to read it.  Otherwise, enjoy!  I hope, at the least, our decision helps to inspire others to reach for their dreams.  But, I'm sure making the decision to follows our dreams, is not yet inspiring.  We'll have to wait and see what comes of abandoning our path and starting down this unknown, less travelled road.  I for one am excited.

If you subscribe to the post, you'll be updated by email when I update this blog.  I'm thinking it will be a once a week type blog and I won't really get started until we are well on our way.  Click follow on the upper right of the side bar.