“Let it go!”

(Originally posted September 30, 2021)

Wow, the movers have come and gone. The apartment is empty. Visiting the family in Florida with just 9 days to go until I fly to Paris. Almost all the checklist items before leaving are checked off. Final day at work is tomorrow after seven great years at SAIC (formerly known as TASC and Engility).

I feel excited and apprehensive. Excited for a new chapter in my life. Apprehensive in the challenges of building that life but looking forward to making lots of new friends and becoming fluent in another language (French, that is, if you’re wondering).

Also, since many people have described how Paris life is very different than in Northern Virginia, I am starting to learn to calm down a bit, embrace the flow of things more, and not feel like it all has to happen the way I imagine it should go. Internalizing the “C’est la vie” perspective (“That’s life.”), acknowledging that most of life is uncontrollable and should be enjoyed in the midst of the here and now. Where beauty exists in the moment as well as the journey and the destination.

Many of you have asked what is the first thing I will do in Paris once I arrive. After checking into the AirBnB, Place du Tertre calls me. Place du Tertre, my literal and figurative happy place, is located on Montmartre near the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. Relax in a cafe, enjoy some chocolat, watch the people pass by, and slowly breath the Parisian air in and out – releasing prior priorities and allow the sights, sounds, and smells of my new city to inspire and enlighten me to the calling in Paris.

Until we meet in Paris…

(Originally posted September 30, 2021)