New Year, New Choices

Finding Our Rhythm (Again)

December was… good. Like really good in that calm, exhale kind of way that you only recognize once you’re already inside it.

We were house-sitting in Berlin for a month, taking care of a beautiful place and a couple of horses so the owners could head off to Spain. There’s something deeply satisfying about that kind of exchange — mutual trust, simple responsibility, everyone winning. We fed horses, fixed a few things around the house, kept the wheels turning. And in return, we had space. Time. A rhythm that felt like ours.

Gingerbread houses (yes, that's right, our middle child is now the tallest of all of us!) and snowball fights...

Our days were full but not frantic. We set our own schedule. The kids had room to be kids. We worked, cooked, laughed, rested. We actually finished things on our to-do list (a small miracle). Not everything. But it felt balanced — family time mixed with getting stuff done, without one constantly taking the other.

Through that we also missed out on the, lets call it `normal`, before Christmas chaos. Yes we had some extra ideas of Christmas-y things we could do, like going to a local Christmas market and organizing Christmas gifts while traveling (always a challenge... where will we be when and where will the package arrive and in how long?!). But it wasn't steered by the normal extra stress....

And somewhere in the middle of all that, we felt it click a little more clearly: this is the way we want to do it.

Not one rigid plan, but a blend. Some Workaway and WWOOFing to discover new places, learn new skills, meet interesting humans and projects. Balanced with more freedom. More sovereignty over our time. More say in how our days unfold. Less hustle-for-the-sake-of-it, more intentional living.

I think I may have mentioned this before...

We’re still feeling into this shift. Aligning with it. Letting it settle into our bodies before locking anything in. Because with freedom also comes adulting — paperwork, insurance, logistics, online work structures, all the messy but necessary scaffolding that makes this kind of life sustainable. We need time to tie loose ends and make sure we’re not just dreaming beautifully, but building wisely.

After Berlin, we headed down to Austria just in time for Christmas. Perfect timing. We spent it with people we met over two years ago at the very beginning of our travels — one of those full-circle moments that makes you pause and quietly say, okay, yes… this life makes sense.

Up at the cabin. Games, fires to keep us warm, beautiful views and playing in the snow.

It was magical. Long meals, deep conversations, laughter, feasting, that warm sense of belonging that doesn’t need much explaining. And then, because life clearly wanted to outdo itself, we headed up to a small cabin in the mountains for a week.

Now, let me be honest — we didn’t exactly choose to leave the valley. The farm we usually stay at was fully booked right after Christmas with vacationing families (understandably — skiing nearby, farm life, cozy apartments… it’s kind of perfect). The apartment we normally stay in was booked. So up the mountain we went.

And I’m so glad we did.

We've been up there before, I think every New Years for the past three years actually... The cabin is simple in the best possible way. Running water from a spring. Electricity from a small battery and a mini solar panel. Heat from a wood-burning stove that also becomes my kitchen. Snowy mountain views that make you stop mid-sentence. Phones mostly off, except for photos… or the occasional call to the farmer down in the valley to check in on life below.

We cooked everything on the stove. Made Kaiserschmarrn. Played board games every night. Rang in the New Year with quiet, presence, and firelight instead of noise and fireworks. (Well, there were fireworks but very far away- by the time we heard it it was already too late to see.) It was sometimes cold but cozy, grounding, and deeply regulating in that way nature always is when you let it work on you.

Then — back down the mountain.

Back to the farm. Back into projects. Back into busyness.

Ok, it's not all busyness, we have enjoyed some outings together- like a horse drawn sled ride in the snow.

And here’s where it gets a little more nuanced.

I genuinely love it here. The people are wonderful. The work is meaningful. There’s energy, laughter, collaboration. Every now and then there’s a yoga class, or a deep spiritual conversation that reminds me why I’m drawn to places like this in the first place.

But I can feel the edge.

That familiar place where being helpful slowly turns into being overextended. Where days fill up so completely that there’s barely space left to check in with us — our goals, our needs, our inner compass. Where family time happens around the work instead of being centered within it.

The kids feel it too. They’re busy in good ways — homeschooling in the mornings, helping chop wood, cooking with me, finding their own rhythms and projects. But every now and then they look at us and say, very clearly, “Can we just have a day off together?”

And they’re right.

A couple of our days off: ice skating and playing on a nearby frozen lake and sledding down a LONG hill!

This is the practice for me. Not just resilience in the dramatic moments, but in the subtle ones. Remembering to pause before I disappear into productivity. Not losing myself in service or work or being “useful.” Saying yes — but also knowing when to gently say not today. Even just taking 2 minutes to check out the very cool Lego thing my daughter just built, instead of saying from the next room and a quick glance- "oh, cool!`"

So I keep coming back to center. Literally and figuratively. A breath. A moment of gratitude. A reminder of the abundance that surrounds us — not just in places or experiences, but in choice. In connection. In the ability to notice when something is starting to feel off and lovingly course-correct. In choosing presence. Presence with myself.

This life we’re building isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what’s aligned — and having the resilience to keep listening when the rhythm needs adjusting.

And for now, that’s enough.

But what about the Green Card? We've had quite some people ask about it so I'll just give the non-spectacular update: we still don't know anything. I looked up waiting times and stuff again, but seeing as how we're not allowed to ask about - well anything - until the normal waiting time is up... yeah, all we can do is wait!

And the normal waiting time for the final form is TWO YEARS (on top of the 1 1/2 years we waited for the beginning 12 steps!)... but I guess the good new is that the final form waiting time is up in April (3 months from now). And you better believe I'll be asking what the status of the Green Card is on exactly that two year mark... if I haven't already heard from them before that of course.

For now, coming back to the choice we all have, every moment. To choose what to focus on. And enjoy life. I hope you are too.

All my love