This has been one of those super choppy weeks where there is too much going on and much of it is out of our control. On Monday, we finally handed the reigns of our yard over to a company to help us. This is obviously going to be necessary when we are in Australia but there is something about growing up with parents who never hired anything out that has made us can do/frugal kinda people. While on the surface this seems like a great trait, we are at that point where we need a lot of help to make this adventure happen and yet it is hard to ask for help! We still have a bit of transplanting to do and some additions to the back yard but we are on our way to having that taken care of! Whew! Oh, and through this we have determined an apartment in Brisbane is sounding awfully good to us about now!
The other massive home project that we should have done a lot sooner is the enclosing of our garage. We finally had them enclose the door and now we are creating a separate lock out space as we ready our home for either rental management or friends to rent or a combo of both. Currently our back porch and back yard are taken over by everything that was stored in our garage as we have it painted, flooring installed and the dividers put in for the lock out section! Before we can have rental management companies come in to give us prices, we have to tame the current chaos in our home and restore some order. We must do all this while still going through stuff to take to the estate sale and packing things up for long term storage! No stress here! It would be easier to just say “this is just too much work…we already live in paradise…let’s just stop” but that would be short sighted and, of course, would lead to regret so….onward we forge!
In addition to the home chaos, our sweet boy Felix is away at dog training this week trying to address a few fear issues and boy are we missing him terribly! Of course, this too should have been done sooner but sometimes it takes a pressing deadline to make things happen. We want him to be ready for the plane ride to Melbourne and then the 10 day quarantine that will follow. We, of course, want us all to be good ambassadors for our homeland!
Fear is a powerful thing. Most of us are willing to acknowledge that we have some areas in our life where we have them. While dreams keep us pushing forward in life, being brave enough to leap toward those dreams is an entirely different matter! Lawson and I both did some life coaching while we lived in Atlanta and plan to resume that work later this year. We have learned much during this sabbatical as we have clarified what is important to our life! Now going for this long held dream while pushing through our own fears, we want others to know they can do it too! It is okay to look at your fears while also looking at your dreams! In fact, I would say it is really necessary! We have been talking about Australia for 12 years – 12! Dreams do not always happen overnight! We have had to grow and change! We have made many sacrifices and experienced many course corrections! We have lived small and debt free! We have foregone short term pleasures for long term goals! We have known pain and been hurt. We have taken that pain and hurt and converted it to fuel that pushes us forward! You can too! Just as our boy Felix is addressing his fears, we have and will continue to as we venture abroad!
Whatever your own hopes and dreams are, know you are not alone as you look at your own fears! I do believe the adventure of life is worth it! Be Brave! Happy Weekend Everyone!
Oh Susan as I read this it is like you are talking directly to me. I so admire you and Lawson and all you are going through, putting in place, to make your dream come true. I am facing many fears at present but your blog is so encouraging. I cannot wait to see you both soon here in Queensland.
So well said. What’s the name of the dog training? I may join Felix in his one week to overcoming fears program. 🙂