2019 feels like a slower kind of year. I can already tell because of this post, a recap of 2018, which most people publish before the new year. It’s my process to take time and examine everything in my life, and often, I share things well after they’ve occurred. I guess I prefer to keep it close to my chest, experiencing it all to myself, before putting it out there. 

The words that come to mind right now are: we did it. We got married in Spain. We moved far away. We bought a home! The perfect starter home that I’m sitting in right now. I have a steaming (reheated) cup of coffee and a straight view of The Smoky Mountains. It feels like I’m in a cabin getaway. Outside there is a vacuum of silence where noise should be, or at least, that’s what my mind is accustomed to. Noise. Movement. But here I am still.

It felt as if we made the decision fast, but the idea to go away had always been there. The destination and the guts to do it took a long time. Once we knew, the decision was easy and quick. Now that we’re here, the entire process behind us, we can connect the dots and see how purposeful it all was.

So much happened this year, which isn’t typical for me. It will always be one of my favorite and certainly one for the books. Here’s our timeline:

January: Begin the year in Miami dreading to go back to work but excited for the forthcoming trip at the end of the month to Germany.

February: Halo! German bier and pretzels are great, but we have to come home, and I spend the rest of the month pouting about the fact that we don’t live in a small apartment in Berlin.

March: I officially switch to freelance! Super scary, and not entirely a decision I was ready for, but here I am and I am happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time. I don’t wake up with that feeling of dread to drive to the office. I begin to commit to a new life and my book.

April: The fairy dust continues. My book is on FULL swing. It looks as if I just may finish it by this year. I’m getting great feedback from my editors and a few test readers. I make a new web site for myself. Lots of direction, commitment and action. In the back burner, a small idea plants itself. What if we move to North Carolina?

May: *Easily my favorite month of the year* I turn 31 (eeekk!!) on a getaway with my sweetheart. I celebrate my bachelorette in Key West with 10 close friends and we all celebrate my bridal shower (co-ed after party included). I am feeling lots of LOVE. Also, a new revelation, we’re doing it. We are moving. OMG I haven’t told anyone yet.

June: A month of moves, we drive to Asheville to find a 6-month rental to hold us over until we purchase our dream home in Bryson City, a small town nearby. We pack up all our things and do it.

July: It’s our first month living in Asheville! Lots of pool days, craft beer and discovery. It still feels new, but I begin to get restless. I feel thrown off and lose my novel steam in place of preparing for our wedding because OMG it’s next month and how did it get here so fast?!

August: The 3 weeks leading to our wedding are spent in planning mode, booking our honeymoon, buying last-minute gifts and speaking with our vendors. My Spanish has never been better… We get to Toledo and proceed to have the best wedding of our life, a 3-day gypsy affair abroad with all our friends and family! New HIGH for the year!

September: We land and find out our dream home is no longer ours. Our timeline may be thrown off… we need to make some quick decisions. Que in crisis and our first real hurdle as a married couple. Congrats!

October: Slump. We’re stressed about our living situation, which keeps creeping, no book edits because I have no energy. I’m a bit lonely without my friends.

November: Things turn around. We change our entire search criteria and find a new home. It’s better for us in a ton of ways and still has the important prerequisites we want to build our dream life. Our offer is accepted… time to squeeze in our due diligence so we can move out by December! We intermittently relive our wedding via photos and videos while drinking wine. It went by so fast! We consider renewing our vows and ponder on when is too soon…

December: I am feeling the best I have in NC. I’m getting more inspired, I’m working on my novel, but I get bad news: it is potentially too short… by a lot. I try to get my head in the game by inspiring myself and writing in my blog and other publications. We close on our home mid-month and in the same week, my grandmother passes away. I cry like I’ve never cried before. It really hurts. We fly down to Miami the day after we sign the papers and the experience is crushing, yet cathartic. Christmas comes and it is chaos! Family is in town, I can’t find any shoes and there is definitely no time for writing any of the things I planned (like this post and an end of the year newsletter). The new year is welcomed with a quiet celebration at home, our new home.

Now that we’re all caught up, here I am, 3 days into the New Year and feeling that although a lot happened in 2018, there is plenty to evolve and further on in 2019. Perhaps, it won’t be as slow a burn as I thought.

Happy New Year dear friend.

xoxo,

c