Letting Go To Step Forward

Well, it’s taken almost six months of us doing this full-time, but I think I can finally say it’s all starting to fall into place. Not ‘into place’ as in everything working perfectly (no, we’re still having the occasional hiccup, surprise, or moment of contemplation), but as in us feeling confident with what we’re doing, and comfortable with our role in life. Not too bad, huh?

It’s a strange feeling, and not one I’d expected so soon when you consider how instinctive the life of a writing coach was to me, and the time we thought it would take to transition from the old life to the new, but we may just about be there.

A couple of weeks back I spoke about breaking habits, and of not doing things out of habit but because we wanted to - something most conventional lives don’t allow us to do as much as many of us might like, or in fact something that conventional lives might simply bury over time until we receive a reminder (often with a shock and when the time left is limited).

Well, I have to say that as a person whose life has always revolved around making an income, (even to the point where I left school on a Friday and started paid work the following Monday, and worked from home when our children were only months old) I’ve decided to make a change. That’s right! My life is no longer going to be defined by the money I earn! No more of this mangling the things I love doing to make an income! No, from now on I’m going to do what feeds my soul, allow my true self to surface, and trust that all I need for life will follow.

I guess in a different lifetime Steve and I would both have been called ‘hippies’. I’m also guessing that this decision is going to shock some of our caring friends (maybe even as much as our decision to sell up everything and become full-time house-sitters), for that I am sorry. Although, of course, it’s also possible you thought we were hippies all along - it seems my family did!

There’s so much to life we want to explore and experience that the nine-to-five, home-owning existence forces out of us. Who knows, maybe in time Steve and I’ll come back to being ‘normal’, but in the meantime I’m closing down my business of 20 odd years, Writing to Inspire. Thereby leaving Steve and I officially free to live a simple life of photography, writing, and moving around this wonderful world, delighting in the smiles of people who are temporarily free and able to escape their pressures of convention to go on relaxing holidays just because we’re free and happy to take care of their home and pets.

Not a bad way to go, huh?

This Street Or That?

I knew when we started regularly moving from one suburb to another (or one state to another, or heck, maybe even one country to another) that there was chance that one area could be more sociable to us than another. Although, to be honest, I thought that the difference wouldn’t be all that obvious. After all, how sociable would a community be to a couple who were only staying in the area for a week or two - neighbours, yes, but the community? Really? Let’s face it, we’d probably be moving on by the time our presence was registered.

However, I have to say… I was wrong. 

Yes, I admit it… 

I was wrong! (although not too loudly within Steve’s hearing.) 

Different suburbs are different! After several months of moving, I can now say with confidence, there is a difference from one community to another… perhaps even, one street to another.

Steve and I are, by nature, friendly people - talk to us and we’ll happily talk back to you (unless we’re urgently required somewhere else, you look really weird, or we’re holding on to the lead of a dog exceptionally eager to get home). But, that doesn’t mean we’ll automatically go up to a group of strangers chatting together in a park and introduce ourselves just because we’re all in the same space.

But here is different. We’ve only been here a week and I’ve lost count of how many people we’ve chatted to in the park simply because we both (or all) have dogs. Then there are the people we regularly greet in the streets because they walk their dogs the same time as we walk ours.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s always us who says ‘hello’ first, we don’t always get a chance. The dogs nearly always beat us to it, happily starting a conversation. In fact, I think it’s highly likely that us being recognised in this community has nothing to do with who we are. It’s all to do with our current location and dogs being decidely friendly… we’ve even come across a neighbour carrying treats in her handbag especially for our current pets…

Who Says Tea's At Six?

Imagine what it would be like, after twenty or more years of being at somebodies’ beck and call, to one day be sitting down having a reflective cuppa and realise that there’s nobody waiting for you to get home by a set time, nobody expecting you to turn up at work the next day or submit a manuscript by a set deadline, or even anybody waiting for you to have tea on the table by six o’clock?

I tell you, it’s a weird feeling, and one that takes time to get used to - after 30 odd years of work and 25 of parenting, knowing you can be spontaneous in most situations without any major repercussions.

I have no doubts that for some people, when this happens, there are more negatives than positives. But for Steve and I, it is, in many ways, just like life used to be for us many, many years ago - very strange.

When we started out on this new lifestyle a group of my friends said, ‘How does life feel without the responsibility of having a house and belongings to think about?’ At the time I couldn’t quite see what they were talking about, but I have to say that I do now. There are many things this lifestyle makes easier, and I would be heart-broken if the people I cared for all those years didn’t still need me occasionally or phone regularly to keep me updated. Plus, I’m in no doubt, that if I was house-sitting on my own - without Steve by my side - my view would be entirely different.

Also, maybe, what we’re adjusting to now is exactly what every retiring couple has to adjust to… we’re just doing it early (had to put that bit in). Who knows…

But for those who asked me earlier, being independent again is a big part of the enjoyment of this lifestyle, and an even bigger reason for me being more relaxed. Yes, we have to feed and care for animals, look after a home, and regularly pack up the car, but that’s also half the fun of it, and it never takes long. 

Now we just need to come up with more spontaneous things to try out. Today we found an amazing cafe and got a couple of take-away coffees, yesterday we went for an exploration of the new neighbourhood… Not very exciting I know, but it is a start. Who knows, I might even decide to write instead of cooking a meal…