When we were both sent home from our respective corporate offices in the Spring of 2020, it felt strange, but we adjusted to the new norms of work from home. Alarm at 6am, morning routine, shower and a shared green smoothie. Fortunately, we had rented a house in Seattle the year prior that felt a bit too large, but now we could transition into our home offices, previously rooms unassigned to a purpose. Emails and Teams meetings start at 7:30 or so and last throughout the day. We felt fortunate to have well paying jobs, a home, food on the table during such a tough time for so many. We tried to do some good to help others where possible. A couple of years later, yet again in the depths of a never ending Seattle winter and spring, having not seen a friend, family member or co-worker in the flesh for months, a discussion started…
It may have been because the world felt so strange, pandemic and all. Or perhaps because work started in the dark and ended in the dark, the sun never having really come up at all. Maybe it was because each day required peeking between your fingers at the news, to see what stupid or morally outrageous thing he did now. Was the anti-social dynamic of the “Seattle freeze” really that bad? Or perhaps it was just 20+ years of chronic work related stress and anxiety finally shaking something loose. Maybe most of all, because our best days always seemed to be when we were in some far-away place traveling and seeing something new together. Maybe because we simply had the time and the boredom to dream.
The question seemed to arise more and more often, during our daily walks up the hill and around Maple Leaf park. “Are you having fun?”. A pause to consider… The answer always came back the same, no matter who did the asking or answering. No, not really. But why, when we are so happy together? The reasons were mulled over ad nauseum. Sick of the chronic darkness of the Pacific Northwest. Check. Seeing our limited and always busy friends was a challenge before Covid and now wasn’t a thing. Check. Our families either didn’t live near by, or had gone to other parts of the world themselves. Check. Feeling the physical and mental exhaustion of ever increasing demands at work? Check. First world problems, we know.
So what then makes us truly happy? Well each other of course, that’s obvious. What else then? A pause… When we’re traveling internationally, seeing the world together. Why else do we keep ending up in Spain every year? Another pause… So how we do that?!
One of us having a mother that retired to a happy life in Thailand in 2013 had been fortuitous. It planted the seed that such a thing was even possible, as neither of us had really considered it before. We had been to Thailand multiple times together to visit mom and explore, Tim having been there several more times prior to our marriage in 2018. We also went to Costa Rica for our honeymoon and had an amazing time. When Covid started to open just a smidge, Ecuador in 2021. Portugal and Spain, then Spain and then again. Nos encanta Espana…. (We love Spain)
Twenty twenty-four arrives. The conversation gets refined again and again. With each loop around the park. the picture gets clearer. But can we really quit our jobs, sell our stuff, and just go? I mean, that’s pretty crazy, right?
In May, Tim gets laid off due to company financial issues, life of a start up company. That’s one job down. A few weeks later, a long time best friend dies unexpectedly at age 46, leaving a wife and 3 young boys. Okay life, we’re listening…. Carpe diem…
Experts in planning, we think, we move into operational mode and start to lay it all out. Stacey will work through the end of the year, as she’s in the middle of some key projects that she wants to see through. Tim goes to work on the travel plans, family financials and selling off our stuff. We have decades of accumulation to work through. Tim also has a son who lives with his mother, whom he absolutely adores. The biggest emotional and logistical obstacle of all.
Where should we go? How long should we travel? How long in each spot? What do we do with the stuff we can’t part with, or may want to have later? What visas do we need? Can we really afford this? What about medical? What if this, what if that…. Are we sure?
We touchdown in Bangkok Thailand on January 21st of 2025, having departed the US on January 19th, the final day of the Biden administration. A layover in Tokyo and we’ve arrived at 5am, Thailand time. Our whole life down to 2 wheelie suit cases and a backpack each.
It begins….
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