We traveled for twenty-five hours from Cluj to San Francisco. To be fair, we did have a lovely day trip through Munich on the way back. Ten hours after we arrived, the next morning we both went to work. Jet lag allowed for surprising energy in the morning but sickening body ache in the afternoon. And I worked through it all for five days straight.
So how can one put their dreams on the line twice? It takes me a lot of thinking through, especially for such big choices. Speaking up takes courage as it involves living with its consequences. My highest level manager asked me what’s next, so I said we are planning to go to Romania within the year to pursue our adoption plans and Conrad’s dream to live in Europe again. At my job we live in a culture of transparency, integrity and trust and I rest in this madness. It is crazy how engaged I feel at work. Maybe edified future plans allows for driven life in the present.
Speaking up brings new ideas to the surface. A colleague suggested that HR would be a great resource for our plans, so I emailed an HR manager whom I helped immerse in the store culture a year ago. He replied within an hour with a very encouraging response. He shared he was adopted himself, and he adopted two twin boys twelve years ago, so this topic is near and dear to him. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in a year, but I know our journey continues.
Side note: Conrad asked me to write a post about my dentist and why I fly over ten thousand miles for a dentist appointment. Then someone genuinely asked the same question. So here it is: trust, exceptional work, quality service and materials. His caliber is of the highest level and I love his transparency and work ethic. As a kid I went a lot to the dentist and had a few root canals and bad service, which I am simply revising.