We knew if we waited until we were ready that we'd never actually go. That's why, when Kevin was offered the opportunity to "retire" (at the tender age of 39) from his position at AT&T with a severance package, we decided to go for it. With very little money in savings and fingers crossed, he accepted the offer and immediately started applying to jobs nationwide. He was lucky to quickly land a gig in South Beach, Florida. Our location had been decided for us. Miami Beach, Florida, here we come! Step 1 of our plan to become a traveling family was under way.
Crazy? Yes! But truth be told, it takes a pinch of crazy to be brave enough to live out your dreams. Our dream? To be able to travel with our children while they are still young, expose them to different cultures and climates, and see firsthand all this wonderful world has to offer. We put all the wheels in motion. Drastically downsized our belongings by taking countless trips to donation centers, friends and families houses and the city dump. I gave notice at my job where I gratefully accepted an offer to work remotely for the first six months of our adventure. Put the house up on the market, bought a trailer to tow behind our mini-van, Kevin took a quick trip south to finalize his hire and scout out a place for us to live, and we scrambled around trying to tie up all loose ends.
We were a few days behind our planned moving date and still not everything was in order, but alas, we were out of time. We had to hit the road as Kevin's first day of work at his new job in South Beach was just around the corner. With our house still on the market despite unfinished remodeling projects and a slew of items in our garage that we didn't have time to relocate, we slowly pulled out of the driveway. The three kiddos and our sweet Boston Terrier, Bella, were packed sardine style into the middle row of our minivan. All our "Wisconsin" belongings were stowed with various family members for when we visit. Everything else was tightly packed into the trunk of our mini van and the trailer we towed behind us. That's it! Ready or not, off we go.....
After three days of driving and two hotel stays we made it to our destination - our new home in Miami Beach, Florida. We picked up the keys and it was time for the moment of truth. None of us had seen the unit prior to this. Hoping for the best we unloaded our van and trailer into the new place, enjoyed the most gorgeous and welcoming sunset we had ever seen (at least at that point) and ended the evening with a pizza dinner and sparkling juice celebration.
Step 1 accomplished... now bring on step 2...
#Sinnemanlife, #Travelingfamily, #Worldschoolers, #Homeschooling, #Sailing, #Cruisingwithkids, #Ordinarytoextraordinary, #dreamerswithapinchofcrazy, #breakthecycle
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