Packing Two Years In A Suitcase

Okay, California you won! We are back, but the Netherlands will always have a special place in my heart.

Two years ago I started Tea Cups & Tulips after I quit my full-time job to do freelancing and follow my husband to Europe.

I still remember the day we decided to do it.

I was driving back home from work. Belle was on the back doing her homework (It usually took us about 2 hours to get back home because of traffic. On some rare occasions, it took us even longer than that. Did I say I hate traffic?)

Gio had already been in the Netherlands for the past year. We would usually talk on the phone while I was driving to work or heading back home (I wouldn’t be able to do that without this car phone holder).

During one of these fun traffic adventures, he said “Babe, why don’t you guys come over here? It’s a great place, and we can all be together.” This was not the first time he had mentioned this idea. But I never took him seriously. So I was like “What? You want me to quit my job and go over there? That’s crazy.” But at that time, I wasn’t feeling challenged at work. I felt no forward momentum in my career, and this was driving me insane.

I genuinely believe that if your job doesn’t challenge you if you’re not learning anything, it’s time to move on!

And we did it. We sold all of our belongings, bought our tickets, and moved to the Netherlands. We found an international school for Belle, bought bikes for all three of us, and stored our pantry with stroopwafels, boom!

It was like a dream come true.

The Netherlands is such a special place. No, but really!

People walked (or biked) everywhere. There were fewer cars, less driving, and more importantly less traffic! Life is more about socializing face to face instead of social media.

I completely fell in love with that lifestyle.

And then our son Liam was born, which made the Netherlands even more unforgettable.

So when it was time to leave, I was sad. Like really really sad.

We started packing all of our belongings, and it was incredibly challenging to pack two years of your life in a suitcase. Like what do you keep? What do you leave behind?

It was not only difficult for me, but for the whole family. Watching Belle reminisce about each toy she had to leave behind was heartbreaking.

We left the Netherlands with a bit of sadness but tons of amazing memories.

As you guys know, we are back in California now, and life goes on.

But I don’t think I can ever forget Holland, even if I tried. And why would I? Quite frankly, these were the best two years of my life.

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