We've taken the plunge!

We've finally committed to our big "unfamiliar venture, especially after hesitating" (as the Free Dictionary puts it) . . . in our case, after a lot of hesitating.

Yesterday I bought our tickets. We're going to Europe!

J.D. and I are both excited and looking forward to it, which is good because there's no changing the airline tickets now! Even our stay is pretty much set, except for 4 days in England because I haven't heard from the BARS people about the conference schedule yet.

Anyway, one of our problems as a couple is that we both tend to over think things. We try to imagine every scenario and prepare for every situation, but in the process, we tend to stay put until we know EXACTLY what's going on. This can cause paralysis. For example, we've stayed almost 8 years in the same apartment because we didn't know whether or not we should buy a house. Our future has been very uncertain, so we've tried to keep our options open. But, in doing so, we've fallen into a type of stasis, and we're both sick of it. We're both ready to move forward and do what we've dreamed.

Because the thing with life is that you can never know what will be the best decision. You can never make the perfect choice that will only bring satisfaction. You just have to do the best you can. You have to make choices and keep moving forward, and sometimes you have to take risks. We should probably save the money for part of a down payment on a house. But, I've wanted to go to Europe with J.D. since I've known him, and the cliché is true: there's no time like the present! We figure it's the time to travel and do things now. If we wait any longer, we'll just be following that pattern of not making a move because we're afraid of the unknown. That in itself would be precisely the wrong move.

We're going with the travel package Paris & London. And I've arranged it so we arrive in Paris on July 14! We can hopefully catch the military parade down the Champs-Élysées and the fireworks that evening at the Eiffel Tower. We're staying at the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe nearby. It will be crazy, but hopefully fun. Maybe we can even go dancing at the open firehouses during La Fête Nationale? We'll see. It may be insane, but we'll always remember the Bastille Day we spent in Paris.

After all, sharing vivid memories with the one you love is the best kind of real estate.