Change isn't scary - it's growth. And growth is the essence of life. Getting sentimental?

My mom enrolled me into a German class when I was about 8 years old. Despite the fact that she was partly German, my mother was never allowed to learn the language.
I had to do that instead of her.

I hated it but there were some nice parts as well.
I liked my teacher who was originally from West Germany. She used to tell us about her travels in the 'distant West'; about skiing in the Alps and about the huge trees growing only in California!
I still remember all those dream away stories.

Then the year 1989 came and suddenly we were actually allowed to travel wherever we wanted to.
I did a lot and I also scanned the bookstores in search for guidebooks about all my dream countries.
Once together with books about India and Australia I also bought one about California.

Unfortunately I didn't have a travel buddy then...you may guess, the money was the issue!
Thanks to one of my colleagues I came in touch with her ex-schoolmate and we were planning on going together. To California!
But then at last she made up her mind and decided to put her money into her wedding and into a house she was about to build with her fiancé!
How could you choose settling down over a trip to California?!!

Continuing travelling and moving around I kept my guide books.
Then, four years ago, while we were packing again to move to the Ardennes I found those books and seriously considered to throw them away.
As a fresh mom I was not that much into travels anymore.
But, maybe out of nostalgia, I kept them.

Only one month later Rob came home with this job offer and so... here I'm, living in one of my dream-to-visit countries, hugging the huge trees myself!!


After the years the places on the pictures in my guidebook don't seem to me that exotic as before.
But don't get me wrong! California is definitely a place of indescribable natural beauty and it was worth using the opportunity of living here.
Even though I'm ready for the change I'm going to miss California immensely.

But cheer up!
There are still some unused guidebooks left!