Sunday, January 26, 2014

The moments that change you...

Everything happens for a reason. Everything. And my experience is that most people that cross my path also believe this, and more often than not, they usually become one of those reasons for me.

I don't want to go back too far and get off topic from my life altering leap of faith I have embarked upon, but, some things leading up to it need to be pointed out. Last September 9th, 2013 I was just about to hit my 4 year mark with a great Mortgage company. They helped me grow as I worked my way up until I was finally a loan processor. I thought that was all I needed and wanted for myself... Work, make money, buy pretty new things, and eventually settle down and start a family (the last part is still in my plans - key word "eventually").  But, the industry slowed down and the company had to make cuts... and I was one of 10 to go. I cried, and I cried... Not because I was scared - I've always had a way of trusting that things will work out, and then they do - I was crying because, I reallllllllly liked the company and coworkers, and I was very comfortable. In all honestly, the first thought in my head was "you asked for this". Which, I did. Not out loud of course, but I put the thought out into the universe that I wasn't happy, and that I was feeling trapped in an office for 9+ hours a day when I hadn't even seen the world yet. The line "be careful what you ask for" comes to mind when I think about the situation... So the universe decided that I needed a push to get me going in a more satisfying direction.

And pushed I was.

Not very long before this happened I became roommates and friends with a girl a couple years younger than me. She was a nanny to two adorable kids, and was also going to school to become a teacher. Her and I hit it off instantly. We had a lot of the same qualities, common goals and interests. Her contract was about to be done with her nanny position, so she started thinking about what she wanted to do next...Renew the contract full time, and keep taking part time classes, or take on school full time to move her degree along quicker. As the time approached for her to make the decision, she was also introduced to the idea of becoming an Au Pair and traveling the world while she was still young, and had nothing holding her back. She started researching the idea, and searching for families who wanted an Au Pair who spoke English. Occasionally she would joke about me looking into doing it as well, but almost as quick as the thought was mentioned, I shut it down. I thought that it would be too crazy to drop everything and move to a strange country to live with a family and teach their children English for a few months. Leave my family and friends? Use all of my savings and retirement? The thought seemed ridiculous, and yet somehow for some reason I was intrigued. One day I started to look into it, which led me to create a profile on a Au-Pair website, and the emails started flooding in. Originally I chose Spain and Italy as my top two choices... but the more families I spoke to in both locations, the more I started to lean towards the idea of Spain.

Here I found myself, without a job, without a boyfriend, no kids, and not stuck in a rental lease. I have an amazing mom who was opened armed at the thought of me moving my things back to her house, and she even offered to watch my dog, Chico. I had nothing holding me back! So, before I really made up my mind, I started telling people that I was going to do it. I started looking at Airfare, and different locations in Spain. I started skyping with families I met on the website to see if we would be a good fit... and one day, I met the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful family of them all, I fell in love and instantly knew I was going to do this.

So here I am.



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