I'll never forget that Saturday morning last summer when Matt and I came to a point where it was time to make some tough decisions about life. We were 8 days from closing on our dream house. It was a beautiful old Victorian home in the Platt Park neighborhood of Denver. It was 6 blocks from our studio. There was the sweetest little park just right down the block. Every time I drove by it I could just see Story there - not just now - but when she was 2, 4, 6 and beyond. This was the American Dream...the picture perfect house where all of the dreams we saw on TV were supposed to happen to our family too. But was it OUR dream or the American Dream? Matt and I have never really fit the mold. We've tried to at many points in our life but the reality of it is that the mold doesn't work well for us. We quickly grow tired of the norm and desire a life filled with hope and passions for experiences beyond what society tells us is normal or reasonable... We were 8 days from closing when we decided that we were chasing the wrong dream. Not a bad dream at all...just the wrong one for us. While I wish that I could be the person that has a picture perfect house with the picture perfect organized family...it wasn't our dream-it was the dream I was SUPPOSED to want. So on June 29th, 2009 we changed the course of our life. With lots of tears and doubt, we sat on the edge of our bed that morning and committed to making our life about the experiences and people we share it with. We committed to buying a less expensive house in a less expensive neighborhood and would put the money we saved per year into what we deemed more important like experiences and things that are meaningful to us. We decided to change the context in which we would live in hopes of somehow, in some way, we too could change our part of the world. We decided that for the next five years until Story hits school age - our family would take two months out of the year to live in another part of the world. We didn't know how we were going to do it. We didn't know where it would take us - but we knew it was a decision that would make us grow as a family, as parents, as business owners and artists. And so it began...the saving for the trip...the doubts...the secret drivebys that I made past our "dream house" wondering if we had made the right decision as i worked my way home to our little box of a house...the excitement...the planning...the looks people got on their faces thinking we were crazy...But - like we've always tried to do - even in the face of doubt and funny looks - we MOVED FORWARD and listened to our hearts. And so, that brings us to now. We are 8 days away from leaving to live in the US Virgin Islands for the next two months. We will be living on a 500 acre island off the coast of St. Thomas in a semi-permanent tent structure with our 1 year old daughter Story. Our hosts will be Deb and Paul, an adventurous expat couple that sailed the world for 2 years when their daughter was just 2 months old - and that was over twenty years ago. And within those canvas walls in the Virgin Islands our dream will comt to life one day at a time. I hope that we get to love on Story to the point she gets sick of us. I hope to walk her around in circles as long as her little one year old body desires. I hope to have long conversations with Matty long into the warm Caribbean night with bottles of wine talking about life and what we want to come of it. I hope to have time to be creative and fill up my cup with new found energy to create imagery that impacts people. I want to step away from the context in which we presently live to gain a greater clarity about the things we are doing right, the things we can improve on and the things I have not even yet imagined in both our business and beyond. I want to think clearly and without the restraints and distractions our daily lives put on us. I want to put my phone down and stop checking it by the minute. But mostly, I just want to be. Be available. Be happy. Be a dreamer. Be creative. Be PRESENT. And so, in my other dream...it is a photo I have in my head of our family. Matt, Story and I are all walking down a road in a jungle of some kind. It's a dirt road and there isn't a single car in sight. Story is swinging slightly as we walk. You can tell she is happy even though you can't see her face. We are a world away yet all together. All growing. That is my dream. It's the dream we chose. If you'd like to join us on our adventure...we'll be keeping a family blog. It won't be perfect but we hope to share our insights on life and business, our homesickness and our happiness. And of course, photos. Lot's of photos. Here is a link to the blog...Two Months in a Tent...we don't have much on it yet - but we'll really start using it once we arrive on the island mid March. Here's to living with lizards and chasing sunshine, Jenna A note to our awesome clients!!! I know you know we are going - but just so you know again - we picked the only tents in the Caribbean with internet access. (You didn't really think I could live in the true wilderness did you?) And my phone will be fully functional and I will be available to you as always. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any reason whatsoever. I'm here and I want to talk to you! We will be operating business as normal - just from a different latitude and longitude for a bit...Katie will be in Europe through the month of March and will have intermittent access to email but you can always call me on my cell as well! Katie will also be sharing her incredible trip with us as she can get me updates to post...but gosh am I going to miss her! You guys are the BEST!!!
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