High above the clouds in a plane that is not nearly full, our new adventure begins. A few hectic weeks are behind us. We called a lot, arranged a lot, did a lot and researched a lot. Do we have everything? Are we overlooking anything? How did others do?
Yesterday we closed the door of our empty house behind us. A new owner will move in in a few weeks. We left with our dog and way too many suitcases in a rented car to a hotel for the last night in the Netherlands.
Today we are on the plane to Bonaire where we will arrive at the end of the afternoon (Bonairian time) with our dog and the suitcases in our empty blue house. A house that we fell in love with while on holiday on the island a few years ago. The plan to leave the Netherlands was already there, we just didn’t know exactly where we were going to live. That blue house made the choice for us, it would be Bonaire.
We will land in 8.15 hours and another rental car will be waiting for us. Acquaintances have taken the keys to our house and are waiting for us there. Tonight we drink a cup of coffee for the first time in our house and our life on the island begins.
When we decided 5 years ago that we would emigrate in 2021. We knew for sure that we would not become one of those land leaving couples you see in tv-shows. We had a plan and would be well-prepared, we knew what we were doing.
Now we know better…..we have no idea what we’re getting into, no idea if our plans are viable and no idea what we’re going for exactly. All we know is that in the Netherlands we are unable to stop running and that we have too often forgotten that we work to live and not live to work.
I am a barrel full of plans and inspiration, I love my job and I still go so many ideas about the hand puppet as a pedagogical tool. But I have also become wiser and valued myself in a different way.
Where I used to think that I had to prove and live up to myself, I now actually think that I am very okay and I am very happy with what I can do for both adults and children. I don’t need to be more than I am now, this is good enough.
Everything I need is already there and to do what I like to do I don’t necessarily have to stay in the Netherlands. So why shouldn’t I live on Bonaire? What’s the worst that could happen to me?
Life gives no guarantees and as an entrepreneur I hardly had financial guarantees. What entrepreneurship has always brought me and my boyfriend is the realization that it is mainly about a mindset, about focus and perseverance. If there is, a lot is possible.
The choice for Bonaire is not a choice for eternity but a choice for an indefinite period. We leave it open and start experiencing it, feeling what it does to us and whether it gives us the space in our head and body that we long for.
We are now flying over the ocean. In 7.5 hours we will land with luggage for the first 16 days and our dog. We have been looking at the pictures of our dream house for almost 2.5 years and are now really going to live there. Will a dream come true or did we especially want to believe in this dream? We’re going to find out.
In the coming weeks I will blog again and share what is coming my way, what I experience and what it is like to see that dream come true.
To be continued.
Thanks to Frans and Elja who recorded the arrival of our plane on Bonaire.
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