A year ago today, Danny called up Amsterdam and told them we were on our way. Then 2 days later, I was going to explode with the secret so I started this blog.
A year ago we had just been told we might not be able to have kids, we were both in jobs that felt like they were leading absolutely no where, we had just watched Donald Trump assume the presidency of the US, and we were both so itchy for some hope and change.
In the past 365 days, I have regretted this decision exactly three times. 1 - when I found out I was pregnant and was overwhelmed with the thought of raising a baby a continent away from my friends and family. 2- When my Nonno died and I couldn't be with my family. 3 - When Rocket died and I couldn't be there for my best friend. Beyond these moments of fear and grief - at every turn it has felt like the right choice.
Don't get me wrong - its hard. It is so.hard to miss our people, to miss tacos, to miss legal documents written in English. And it is really, really hard to be raising a perfect little Dutch tulip so far from so many people who love her.
People always ask why we moved here and I inevitably fumble through an explanation somewhere between "we love a good adventure," and "have you *seen* America recently?" But the simplest why is because we like how our tax dollars are spent. We traded in "high" salaries and "low" taxes for something approaching the reverse and don't complain because we are happy with where the money is going.
The money goes towards free health care for every child until they turn 18. It goes towards innovative projects to protect against climate change (pretty critical for a country that is below sea level). It goes towards better bike paths, daycare tax credits, good public schools, and affordable housing. Things we truly believe in and want to be funding.
There are other reasons too. It is dreamy to live in the Jordaan (despite the inevitable weekend influx of too-many tourists). We still stop on every bridge to look up and down whichever canal we're crossing for a small moment of gratitude that we live in a new and beautiful city. It cannot be overstated how much happier we are to live in a biking city and a biking country. We relish the challenge of a new language and the opportunity to raise a bilingual child. We lucked into jobs that are rewarding - where we are valued and our voices matter.
We are grateful for the technology that helps us connect to the other side of the ocean (who doesn't love waking up to a daily #Pipstagram?) and how much more we value time spent in the company of those we love.
We don't know how long we'll be here but I do promise to try to blog more this year.
