Chasing a dream without a roof over our heads, or a bed to sleep in.
Still haven’t found a place to live in Paso Robles! The POD is nearly all packed, the utilities are only on for six more days, we have a trip to visit the XBarH Lodge in Southern Utah with Dad and Mamma Dee rapidly approaching, and I’ve been scouring the internet for a furnished, long-term rental that accepts dogs and doesn’t require a commitment. Not asking much right!?
And then I found it! A cottage with everything we need, and well within budget. So I quickly email and wouldn’t you know it, someone snapped it up straight away. Of course they did! It was perfect! I still read over that initial email and chuckle every time! Patricia (the owner) asked if we would be willing to postpone our move until January, when the cottage would be available again. Well, that was not possible, especially since Evan and I had just jammed the last mattress into our overstuffed mobile storage unit, we had no lease to speak of with our current residence, and no alternative plan.
We decided we would stay at a pet friendly hotel for the short term, and hope something would come up. Living out of a suitcase indefinitely was not something we relished, but we didn’t really have a choice at this point.
October 28, 2013
So there we were, sitting on the front deck, drinking pretty crappy cocktails out of paper cups, no deck furniture, it was all packed, no champagne, which is unheard of, and no place to land once we arrived in Paso Robles.
Doubt. Doubt will inevitably creep in when you are chasing your dreams. Optimism and determination are required ingredients for dream chasing, and Evan and I have it stockpiled inside of us, but even still, doubt is like salt, a small amount can bring out the flavor of the dish, but too much and it’s ruined!
As we were drinking our really awful cocktails, I started to doubt if what we were doing was the right thing. We were leaving safety and security. We were changing our lives, and we were doing it without any idea of how it would end up.
“Evan, how are we going to do this? Where are we going to live? I really don’t want to unpack twice, and I’m really starting to worry that we’re being hasty.” Evan doesn’t usually hear me talk like this, I’m usually the one that says “of course we can do this! No problem!” so naturally he started to worry too. Well, I’m just going to check the internet one more time, and hope something new got listed today.
I went in, while Evan stayed on the deck and called his friend. I was checking email, and my heart started racing! Pat(ricia) emailed saying the cottage had suddenly become available! The gentleman who was planning to rent it, had an unexpected change of plans! She was sure we had already found something but in case we hadn’t she wanted to offer it to us…ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! WE’LL TAKE IT!! WE’LL TAKE IT!! I didn’t even tell Evan, I just made the call, got the email, signed the agreement, and THEN! And only then, did I go out onto the deck where Evan was sitting and started doing the running man, the happy dance, the I don’t care how silly I look, we just got a place to live dance!
As it turns out Pat and John are the nicest, most welcoming people we could have the pleasure of knowing! When we arrived on November 8th, tired from our trip, they showed us around their beautiful property, and made us feel so at home. They didn’t ask us for a timeline on how long we would be staying, they let us take it day by day. They treated us like family. They loved on our doggies! And were all around fabulous people.
When you are making your dream a reality, it’s not possible to get through the journey without some bumps along the way. This was of particular importance to me, because it taught me that doubt is very powerful…but only if you feed it. Choose to feed your dream instead. Choose to believe that it will happen, not that it can. Don’t waste a single ounce of your energy on anything that is not helping you realize your dream. It’s normal to have hesitation, I’m not saying to go into it like a blind fool! What I am saying, is what you believe, is what is. So choose to believe in your dream, and you will find a way to make it real.