Making Peace With a World of Uncertainty
After decades of dreaming about living abroad and endlessly researching the many ways to go about doing so, my husband and I are now taking step after step towards making it a reality. And somehow, the closer we get, the clearer it becomes that in order to do The Schengen Shuffle we have to make peace with a world of uncertainty.
Not just before we go either. But over and over again, each leg of the journey. Because we’ll be moving every 3-6 months. Packing up and unpacking. Lugging our baggage across cobblestone streets and bridges, between trains and buses, up and down stairs, and on and off flights. Each time we’ll be going to places we’ve never been before and along the way we’ll have to ensure our dog’s vet records are in order. Rinse and repeat.
The logistics of it all require us to keep things light. Fluid. We have to remain open and in the flow. It’s a strange contrast however because in seeing the impossible dream through to fruition, we want everything to be perfect. Yet, at its core, this style of travel is best when flexible. So much could happen from point A to point B. Research and plan, yes. But then really, only time will tell.
This is not easy for the faint of heart. Or the anxious of mind. And yet, here we are. Two sensitive overthinking artists holding hands and preparing to jump like we’ve never jumped before. It’s exhilarating. We haven’t even left yet and it has already brought us closer.
We’ve been reminiscing about how we met in a band and fell in love on tour. That was a trust fall into fate’s arms too in its own way. We both auditioned through postings on Craigslist during a low point in our lives. After months of playing shows with the band on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip at iconic venues like The Viper Room, Key Lounge, and House of Blues (RIP), we headed to Orange County and then all through the South to New York.
Glam it was not though. The tour bus had no AC. It was summer and we were in a gutted school bus from the 70’s. Thrifted couches and a cot replaced the seats along with a freestanding sink, cabinets, and a stovetop that had clearly been ripped out of someone’s kitchen. None of it was secured, mind you.
We took turns sleeping on the couches. The manager had the cot. Sometimes, I literally slept on my overstuffed suitcase as we picked up more roadies and ran out of room. Other nights, the bus was too hot and we slept in a tent beside the bus, typically in a Walmart parking lot.
That cross country tour was unlike ones we all hear about in movies or books. The bandleader was heartbroken about that. But us? We felt free. We surrendered to the adventure of it all and cherished the memories being made.
It occurred to my husband and I recently that doing The Schengen Shuffle is similar in that way. So, that’s the headspace we’re officially trying to have going into it. Albeit, we’re not in our 20’s anymore and things are a bit more complicated than they used to be in some ways. We also have a dog now. But, thinking about it in those terms has helped us to let go a little bit and remember that we also need to just allow life to happen.
Once that was decided, we made sweet music together for the first time in forever. That in itself is a win. And hopefully, a good omen for what lies ahead. -TSS