About six weeks ago, after a relatively smooth 16 hour travel day, my husband and I found ourselves in the beautiful country that is The Netherlands. We had made the trek to Europe once before (Fall 2018) for a tour of Southern Germany…but this trip was different. Instead of our standard two suitcases loaded with everything we might need for a 10 day trip; we now had in tow: three roller bags, one large duffel, two backpacks, two personal items, a shower chair, and my firefly scooter.
Instead of touring The Netherlands, we straight up moved here.
So how did all of this come about? “Paralyzed woman and diabetic husband join to fulfill lifelong dream of adventuring abroad”…no, we are not starring in a sappy film…really, I’d say it was a divine intervention.
I had no intention or desire to ever live abroad, and John was aware of this when we married. His travels had brought him to Africa, India, Nepal, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia…you get the idea, but he was aware that I was a bit more timid.
Our trip to Germany together had really made an impact on me, however.
Perfect weather had collided with beautiful scenery, quaint villages, lovely people, winding roads, and a BMW M-Series car to give us the most dreamy European tour…and the more I thought about it, the more I considered what fun it could be to live in Europe and have the ability to travel to many different countries without the 10 hour cross-continental plane-ride.
Germany also gave me a glimpse into a part of my husband that I hadn’t seen or known or experienced before.
Three years of dating and five years of marriage had still not exposed to me the glow on John’s face and the glimmer in his eye as we observed gorgeous views, conversed with people from diverse backgrounds, tried unfamiliar food, and learned the history and culture of a different part of the world. As we adventured together in this place, he came alive in a way that was unfamiliar to me…and you know what…I wanted to know that part of him more.
So, I brought it up to him…
…and the rest is history.
Ok, ok, I’ll give you a few more details…but really, the rest of the move fell into place very seamlessly.
John played the “it was your idea! No going back now!” card several times as he ran with the idea before I could think too much about it and change my mind…smart man 😊 His company agreed to let him work from the office in Delft, a small town in The Netherlands, and he was given a contract for up to 18 months. I resigned from teaching, but feel hopeful about returning once we are stateside again. My parents graciously agreed to watch our sweet dog TJ, and three friends from church volunteered to rent our house.
Before I knew it we had stowed most of our belongings in our garage, and had packed the rest into three roller bags, one large duffel, two backpacks, and two personal items. We loaded these bags, along with my portable shower chair and firefly scooter onto the plane and set off on a grand adventure.
Our first six weeks in Delft have been lovely, and we are settling in quite nicely. The people here are wonderful, and we have rented an apartment in town that we will call home for the next 12 to 18 months. I plan to write in much more detail about our life here and our travels to different areas of Europe as they unfold.
One of my chief desires is to pay attention to and record different aspects of accessibility throughout the cities and countries we explore.
I am a T5 paraplegic and use a manual wheelchair to get around. Before we traveled to Germany, I was filled with anxiety surrounding whether or not the infrastructure there would work for my different needs…and you know what…the level of accessibility was at times better than the States, far exceeding my expectations and proving that my worries and anxieties had been a waste of time.
I am well aware that not every country will have this same story of wonderful accessibility (stay tuned for details on Brussels)…but I want to create a resource for others with different mobility needs to reference as they decide if/how/where they’d like to adventure; and my dream is that others would draw confidence from this resource and feel empowered to travel and explore new places despite their differing needs.
I am not a radical or an extreme person. I have never considered myself to be overly daring or adventurous. I am just a lady on wheels seeing new sights, meeting new people, learning new things, and writing about it as I go.
I hope you’ll join me.
