It was just a normal midweek night, we’re all a well-oiled machine in our school-work-nighttime routine. As Ryan and I made dinner, he casually said, “So, do you want to move to Ireland?” I laughed—of course, I did. But then I caught the look. You know, the one that says, No, seriously. He had been offered an incredible career opportunity...in Dublin, Ireland.
Wow!
It’s funny how fear, anxiety, joy, envy, anger, sadness, and excitement can all fight for control of your brain at the same time. It was like Inside Out 2 happening in real time on my adult brain console (brilliant movie, by the way).
When you’re in your 20s, the idea of your company moving you to Europe is the perfect 'Emily in Paris' dream. But as a 40-something mom of two girls under 10, with a great job (shout-out to my team, benefits, and work friends), aging parents, and a house renovation in progress, it’s less “dreamy” and more of a WTF moment. Okay, fine, it was a teensy bit exciting, too. Life just handed us an adventure card and we 'nervcitedly' (nervous/exciting) took it.
When I started looking online, I was surprised at how hard it was to find stories from families like ours—expats moving to Ireland with kids. Maybe I’m a bad Googler. Or maybe everything’s on TikTok and Instagram now, and I just don’t know how to find it.
Either way, I figured, why not start documenting it myself? These memories, lessons, and feelings are worth capturing and might be helpful to another expat family. Plus, I quit my job and need something to keep me honest (insert melting-face emoji). If there’s one thing life has taught me, it’s that, as Amelia Earhart says "the most effective way to do it is to do it."
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