Why Iceland?

Since the start and even now that we are here, we still get asked, "Why Iceland?".

At home, when we told people we were moving to Iceland, they asked "Why?" with curiosity in their voice. Since we have been here, it's more of a, Out of all the places in the world you could move to, why the hell did you pick this place?" (from Icelandic people)

To start with the why we chose this journey for our family isn't just one answer.

We have always wanted to live abroad as a family. Chris and I had discussed this for years. We've been to numerous countries together. But we knew if we were going to make an international move someday, we would have to do it before the kids were too old. It would be insensitive to pull them out of high school and away from the close friendships they've developed. The reality of our kids being in school stopped our dreaming since they had to be physically present in a school building five days a week.

For most, COVID didn't bring many silver linings. However, for us, it did. In the beginning, it was a struggle with the changing mandate within the public school system. We had had enough after finishing that first school year and starting yet another school year, still via virtual learning. We decided to pull the kids out of public school and began to homeschool them. We didn't realize it immediately, but this allowed us the freedom to travel…..anywhere.

The only absolute requirement for any destination we chose was that my husband Chris had to work as a nurse anesthetist. We had visited Iceland in the summer of 2019 for an anesthesia conference, and our family loved the country's beauty. Once we felt this new sense of freedom, Chris started looking for countries that offered CRNA jobs. At first, I didn't know he had already started looking. I still thought this was just an idea we had discussed. Then, he found a website that lists every country currently hiring nurse anesthetists. Iceland was on the list! So, Chris sent an email to Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik . They responded with, "When can you start?" (Apparently, there is a critical shortage of nurses in Iceland). But I'll talk more about that in a different post. We were surprised to receive such a direct answer from the hospital. We talked it over as a family and decided to "go for it." At the time, we thought six to twelve months was an adequate amount of time for us to prepare for leaving the country and moving abroad.

The hospital didn't give my husband many details about his new job. He had to ask them multiple times what his start date was supposed to be. They finally told him he would start work in August. This left us with only 4.5 months to finish the school year, remodel our home and prepare to move internationally.

The preparation required to move an entire family abroad was more than either of us bargained for. So many "tiny" situations or problems arose that became a more extensive problem that needed dealing with.

We still had roughly two months of school and more than half a house to remodel. "What did I just agree to?" (Full on panic attack was an understatement)

As a mom, you know our brains work differently than most dads. So for the dads out there reading this blog, don't take it personally. Moms just think differently. The stress I was feeling, combined with the excitement of moving to a beautiful European country, was almost overwhelming. Have you ever had a flood of emotions all at once but couldn't even stop to think about them because you were in survival mode, and there was too much shit to get done?! Well, this next step in life would test my anxiety in a way I had never experienced.

My brain works in the way of organized chaos. I needed multiple lists. I'm not a typical list person, no I need numerous lists, oh and yes, excel spreadsheets. I'm weird, and I'm aware of it. I have a list for school, home remodeling, what needs to be done in Ohio, what I need to do for Iceland. And I have to shield the kids from the stress I am feeling. All along, the kids have been the main focus. Oh, and don't forget there is still a pandemic happening.

How the hell do I get everything done and keep my kid's mental health and their lives as normal as possible with everything going on. UGH! I missed the times were "what's for dinner?" was my struggle of the day.

That's the beginning of this journey...