What a time to have moved across the ocean. All our ducks in a row, or so I thought, this move was in the planning stages for over ten years. Our entire trajectory from the West coast to Ct. to Durham, NC was leading us here; the Netherlands.

I didn’t know how it would happen or when but the dream had always been to spend our final chapter living in Europe. I put one foot in front of the other and followed the light. The end of the tunnel came after our last election, the America we once knew was unrecognizable and we found the direction it was heading was nowhere we wanted to be. That was the impetus, and the plan was born; we would leave at the end of 2019.

Here we are, starting a new life in uncharted territory, with our cat, Buddy and an inherited summer house on the water in a tiny village at the end of a lane, no one can find us. We are living the dream, or so people think.
The reality is a mixed bag; feelings of exhilaration, peace, isolation, loneliness, exhaustion, excitement and overwhelm are all part of my daily experience.

Now that it’s been three and a half months I am finally getting my footing. The first few months were devoted to discovering things, settling into the house, finding how to get to the store, where to buy a winter coat (our belongings didn’t arrive for six weeks) how to cook with a countertop make shift oven, which room to paint first.

Yes, we have been coming here for many years but just for a week here and a few weeks there and never in the winter. Here it is in the forties, very windy, often raining and no one around for miles. This is a summer community and there are a handful of people who live here year round.

I love it here, some days. Other days I feel trapped and depressed, I miss my old life and haven’t found my new one yet, but slowly, slowly, it’s all coming to me. Yes, I can do this, I am finding my rhythm, a life without schedules, stress or pressure.

Here are a few views from our living room window, I see water everywhere I go and lots and lots of animals. It’s all coming together…