We are so often asked about how we can have the time to take a trip like this. I think what’s often behind the question is a longing to do the same. Not exactly the same- let’s face it, not everyone thinks a 3 month road trip with toddlers sounds like a great time – but “the same” as in deciding to go out and do something you’ve always dreamed of doing.
Really, there’s nothing so very exceptional about us that enables us to do what others can’t. Our specific circumstances are unique to us, of course, but none of this would have happened without some intentional decision-making and planning on our part. In my first post, I mentioned that we saw a window of opportunity and decided to go for it. Here’s a little more about how that looks for us.
Staffan was ordained last summer as a priest in the Church of Sweden. Newly ordained priests are placed in a position called pastorsadjunkt, which is a one-year assignment with a mentor priest. We knew that, this summer, this year long assignment would end and he’d be applying for jobs. Without anything specific lined up, we knew that we could choose to look for jobs that begin a few months after this one ends.
Financially, we made some decisions that have allowed us to live relatively inexpensively. The money question is another common one, and it’s a big enough topic to deserve it’s own separate post.
We’re also thankful to live in a country with one of the world’s best parent leave policies. Without getting into all the details of how the system works, suffice it to say that we have been able to save days for each of our children so that we can both have an income during our time away. It also makes it easily acceptable to potential employers to have taken this large chunk of time off, since that is commonly done here when one has small children.
So that’s what the window looks like for us. We’re flexible because we’re intentionally between jobs and because our kids are small enough that we don’t have to work around school and activity schedules.We’ve chosen to live in such a way that we were able to save enough money to do something we’ve always wanted to do. We saw the window and decided to open it.
What would a window look like for you and what would you do if you found one? What other questions do you have about our trip that you’d like to read more about on “Lindstroms on the Road”?