Leap

There have been some really scary moments in the past 10 years.  When two out of your three kids are diagnosed with acute cancers – there are a lot of choices to be made, you don’t have much time and hardly any of the options are good ones.    So you choose the least horrible one and hope for the best.

Losing a child was an absolute nightmare.   But out of that experience came a true understanding of the impermanence of this life.  We are determined to honor Althea’s memory by enjoying whatever life we have left.

The part of the Otta River rafting trip where you leap off a cliff into the swirling glacier melt. *not my picture

So last year our family took an amazing trip to Iceland and Norway.  After everything that we’d been through it was cathartic to get out of our routine and away from reminders of sickness and loss.  Our adventures were tonic and we were hooked.

As soon as we returned to the states – we started to plot how we could get overseas again.   Why not take a whole year to experience another culture and learn the language?   Why not!?

For us the clear choice was Costa Rica.   Carlos was already approved for dual-citizenship and the rest of the family could gain residence by association.  The kids could go to school and learn Spanish and Carlos could conduct business with great internet service and proximity to the international airport.

So just like the leap we all took off a cliff into the Otta River in Norway last summer – we took a leap and moved to Atenas, Costa Rica.

This is a definitely a happy choice!

I decided to write a blog about our experiences for several reasons.  Before we left the states several friends suggested that I start a blog.  Writing blogs on carepages and caringbridge during our children’s illnesses helped to get the word out to family and friends, keep a record of what was happening and most importantly, it helped my husband and I to keep calm and keep going.

I would love to connect with other expat families living in Costa Rica or considering a move here, other childhood cancer families, people who have lost a child, or anyone who shares a love of Costa Rica or travel in general.  I have many other interests outside of childhood cancer and Costa Rica – so I’ll be looking to connect with all sort of other bloggers.