Dissolve

My year off is eternal, maybe

Hey Substack,

I am going to be pausing most digital communication for a while. Probably for the rest of the year.

I will come back in about 8 months most likely with a new focus, my life in Greece. We are closing on our house at the end of the month and then the process to become residents of Greece begins in earnest.

I’ll document the process so that I can share it in the aftermath and have a weekly catalog of what the immigration process is like for us. I’m hoping it will go well, but I’m sure we will have our hard times.

I am not a person predisposed to anxiety, but there are things about this process that do worry me. I worry that our government will close ranks before we get out. I worry that we will struggle to get our dogs there. I worry that we may see a fascist crackdown and lose everything we had in the US. A huge financial loss, but one we would figure out.

Mostly, I worry about the people we are leaving behind. That we will lose friendships that we built over a lifetime because of the ocean between us. That we will struggle to make new friends in a foreign land that tolerates us. I think we will find our way, people with motive and direction usually do, but I also know it will be an isolating time in our lives.

That doesn’t dull the excitement or deter me from the path we’ve chosen, but I also can’t ignore the gnawing doubts of our future. It’s just a part of being human, change is always scary.

We had a 13th wedding anniversary party last weekend and it was a huge success. We had a number of our friends come to my mother’s house and party like it was 1929. In a lot of ways, we’re back to the past. History books tell you how the next two decades went, it wasn’t great.

It’s hard to look at Greece and think we’re escaping reality, because we aren’t. Israel is forward settling both Cyprus and Greece. Turkey is a volatile entity right next door. Russian won’t stop at the Ukraine with the Balkans right there, our neighbor to the north. In a lot of ways, we’re stepping right on the hornet’s nest. Frying pans to fires.

That sort of thing worries me too. But anxiety is a fear of the future and moving to Greece also brings hope. Hope of a new life for us. Of new people who share our vision for the future. Of creating a space where all people are welcome.

For now, I have to focus on the present. On seeing as many people as I can before we leave early next year. On experiencing as many great things as I can of the United States. We know when we leave that we may never come back, that’s always a risk especially with the state of the union.

We do hope that you’ll come visit, if you know us personally that is. I’m excited for our future. I’m excited that my wife will get a chance to dedicate herself to her art and me to my writing. I’m excited that we will get to be so close to so many new parts of the world for us. Traveling this planet has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. As bad as humans treat it and each other, there are still so many wonderful sights to see. Foods to eat. People to meet.

I’ve never been to Asia. I’ll be traveling there with frequency soon. I’ll get to see Turkey. When things cool in the Middle East, and they will, I’ll get to see the cradle of civilization. I have a friend with family in Botswana, that’s a much shorter trip from Greece. We can take an overnight ferry to Italy, a country Adrianne has not experienced.

Our dogs will get to experience a new culture too, I’m sure they will love the stray cats and fresh fish.

But for now, I need to focus on our lives here so I’m taking a break from personal writing. I hope that if you want to see me, you’ll let me know. And if you want to visit, please let me know as well. Otherwise, I’ll see you in a year or so. Keep fighting.