This trip, this time away, really is real...

We are exploring the options for a vehicle while we are in France. There are a few long-term lease programs (pricey, but convenient), and we are also looking into buying a used vehicle (with all the inherent risks of a previously owned vehicle) and insuring it ourselves, then selling it as we leave (which is another set of risks). I don't know what we'll do... We need to find out more about both options, before we proceed. But, we will be renting a vehicle for a short while, at least, for when we get there, so I need to get on that soon... And if anyone has any insight into this, I'm all ears... ;)

The paperwork arrived today to fill out for the boys to attend school while we are in France. This trip, this dream of ours that we didn't dare whisper to more than one or two people five years ago, is now HERE. It is imminent. And I don't know what I am feeling more - scared to death, or thrilled to bits! (I think I am both, in equal measure, to tell the truth!) I have to provide vaccination records for my children, and all sorts of other interesting bits of information. Which is not difficult, but still, it highlights and underlines that this trip that we hardly dared whisper aloud about once upon a time, is almost here.


People all over town know about our plans. It's not a secret, but it surprises me when people that I don't really know bring it up with me. It's a jolt, of almost embarrassment and then of pride, that we have stuck with the program these past 5+ years, and have made this time, this trip, a reality. And it irks me, when I remember the little (and not so little) sacrifices we have made over time when we axed that paycheck to start saving, as people gush with envy "you are so lucky!". I don't deny that good fortune has played a part in our lives - we have stayed healthy, and together, and there have been no major financial crises that have occurred to us, but we worked HARD, and sacrificed a lot, to be able to take this slice of time out of our daily grind to explore another culture, another country, another side of us as we explore the world together, hand in hand...