The day someone else's idea becomes our life plan

It always starts innocently.

A garden. A BBQ. A drink in my hand. Four kids running around like feral puppies.

And then someone says the most dangerous sentence in the world to an impulsive person like me:

“We’re planning to travel for a few months… maybe Bonaire. We’ll just rent out our house.”

I didn’t hear months.

I heard freedom.

While everyone else was still chewing their burger, my brain had already packed the suitcases, enrolled the kids in "life lessons," and mentally waved goodbye to our house.

“That sounds AMAZING,” I said.

And I meant: Why aren’t we doing this already?

Enter: The Calculated Husband

My husband is the kind of person who:

• Thinks things through
• Makes spreadsheets
• Asks questions like “But how would that actually work?”

I am the kind of person who:

• Gets inspired
• Takes action
• Figures it out later (or never)

So naturally, within one week, I had invited two real estate agents into our home.

My husband: “Maybe we should just explore the idea first?”
Me: “We are exploring. They’re coming Tuesday.”

Three Months Later we had:

• Signed a contract
• Found a family
• Rented out our house for 18 months

Eighteen.

Months.

With four kids.

At no point did I stop to ask:

• Where will everything go?
• Why do we own so much stuff?
• Who decided children need this many tiny plastic objects?

The Chaos Phase: One Room fit everything

Getting a house ready for renters with four kids is not a task.

It’s a survival experience.

And in my infinite wisdom, I thought:

“We’ll just pack away the essentials. A room should be fine.”

Spoiler: A room is NOT fine.

Not when you realize that you have kids chairs, five boxes of kids' art supplies, a pile of “special” rocks from the backyard, and the entire history of your children’s tiny socks.

The plan was: Everything in one room and "Just a few boxes at my in-laws’ place."

It quickly escalated into 20 boxes....

Because, of course, "Just a few" turned into, "Well, we might need this just in case."

And who can forget those special moments when you realize you don’t even know what half of these things are anymore? Like, “Why do we have 12 unused blender parts? And why does this random piece of wood from the backyard still exist?”

One Week Before Departure

Because chaos loves perfect timing, I got sick.

Fever.

Packing.

Deadline fast approaching.

House half-packed, kids full-speed ahead.

And the reality setting in that nothing was ever going to go as planned.

My husband looked at me from the other side of the room, calmly assembling his “emergency kit” (aka, a list of things to double-check).

He gave me the “I told you so” look. And I gave him the feverish “I will never do this again” glare.

But the truth is: Even as I sat there, sick and barely coherent, I couldn’t help but feel that rush of excitement.

Sure, it was chaotic. Sure, we were running out of time. But we were about to go on an adventure.

And no one—not even me—could have predicted what would happen next.....

Would I do it again?

Probably.

Would my husband need to take a long nap first?

Definitely.

This is us.

Beautiful ideas.

Calculated concerns.

And a whole lot of chaos in between.

And somehow, that’s exactly how our adventures begin.