Moving to Europe and Leaving My Family Will Be Hard, But I Want to See the World

Daily writing prompt

What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?

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Last year, when I told my daughter that my husband and I planned to move to Portugal this year, I thought she would tell me not to go, that, as the matriarch of the family, I was needed. It would give me reason to tell my husband that I couldn’t leave my family. But, instead, she told me that I had earned the opportunity to fulfill my dream of living in another country someday. She said that it was my time to think of myself, that my children were grown, all of them grandparents themselves now, so go and be happy.

We do not plan to remain in Portugal for the rest of our lives, although in our 70s, it may turn out that way. We didn’t get to apply last year for a visa because I was hurt during a tour in Vienna, we caught mononucleosis from my step-daughter while in Portugal, and I had back surgery late last year. My husband had a pacemaker implanted in January, so we are recovering. Now plans are to travel to Portugal for 2 months to find where we want to live, then apply for the visa. Part of the application process is a one-year rental agreement. We are excited to travel again and will use Portugal as a base to tour the rest of Europe, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Belgium. You get the picture!

But I worry about how quickly I can return if I am needed. Will my grandchildren and great-grandchildren feel abandoned? When I moved to California to teach at a prestigious university, my late son’s oldest daughter felt I had rejected them, although I spoke to them on the phone and sent them money for things their mother could not afford. I explained that I went where I could workm having completed my doctorate in my 50s. I never forgot them, and I didn’t realize the depth of her loneliness. So, there are more than I to consider.

We will go this year and start the process, planning to be in Portugal for about 5 years, which means we will be nearly 80 when we return. We will have our three grandchildren in Portugal to see at times, but we want to live independently, so we plan to find a place at least an hour or two away from them. These are the grandchildren we go to Portugal to see once a year, my husband’s only grandchildren. I have fifteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren, with the 14th on the way. So, I have reason to remain, but today, families don’t seem to spend a lot of time together, as I have seen the grands in Portugal at least twice since I saw some of them that live about 90 minutes away, which is why I don’t think I will be particularly missed.

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