This is exactly the response I have heard REPEATEDLY over the past two weeks when I tell people that Jess and I are picking up and moving our lives to Germany.
"Do you speak German?" No.
"Have you been to Germany?" Not me.
"What will you do?" Don't know.
"Where will you live?" Don't know.
"Are you crazy?" Potentially. But in a very good way.
I knew when I married Jess that my life would be filled with adventure. Most of our dates consisted of driving down unmarked roads until it was impossible to drive the car an inch further, then running by foot to explore the area even more. Weird? Yes, but something we both enjoyed immensely. I loved these moments where it felt like it was Jess and I alone in the world. When we never knew exactly what was around the corner, but it didn't matter as long as we were together. This is exactly how I feel about our move to Germany.
Jess spent 7 years active in the military after college. He lived in Germany (90 km from where we will be living), Korea, and Africa. When I met Jess, He was two years out of law school and was just home from his most recent deployment in Africa. He was working at a law firm, but uncertain if this was the right gig for him. We began to explore different options and decided that a civilian job with the Army would most definitely kick serious ass! It was the spring of 2008 and the real estate market had begun to tank (I own a small real estate brokerage) in Utah. What better time to move abroad and learn about another culture? We must have sent in 30 applications over the next 6 months! Hawaii, Italy, Germany, Africa - if there was a Department of Defense job somewhere cool-sounding that Jess was qualified for - we applied for it. After receiving 0 responses, not even the typical "thanks, but no thanks" letter, we gave up. We sent our last application in November to Grafenwoehr, Germany, and then got on with life. Jess quit his law firm job and began working at the local VA hospital as a program director in May and despite the down real estate market, my business has been thriving. Life has been good. Which is exactly why we would receive a call out of the blue two weeks ago from Germany saying "Hey, do you still want this job? Because if so, it's yours" and "We want you here, ASAP". Right? If Jess was still at the law firm, or if we hadn't COMPLETELY moved on from the thought of moving, this call would never have come. Murphy's Law SUCKS and ROCKS simultaneously.
We will be moving to Germany in September. While I don't speak any German, I don't know where we'll be living, I don't know what I'll be doing, I don't even know what to expect, there are a few things that I do know:
1. You only live once (unless you believe in reincarnation) and I believe that you have to seize opportunities when they come your way.
2. While I'm scared to leave my business, friends and everything here in Utah, I believe they will all be here when I return and know they will all be with me in my heart in Germany.
3. I don't think I'll look back from my deathbed and say "I wish we hadn't moved to Germany".
4. You will benefit from a lot more blogging, as I won't have a job.
5. My friends will benefit from all of the sweet hangbags I'm unloading.
6. And finally, I believe that you have to leave your comfort zone to grow as a person. This doesn't neccessarily have to mean a move abroad, but for us, right now, it does. While I'm overwhelmed, nervous, abit panicky, and most other emotions you can think of, I'm most excited for all of the possibilites of the unknown and that I get to experience all of this with the one person I am most fond of in this world, my husband.
