Several years ago, when there were probably only a couple car seats in the back of the van, Richard and I rehashed his career plans on the drive home from a family vacation in Island Park.   It’s hard for me to recall what his original career plan looked like coming right out of school but it involved a short stint at a big four accounting firm, followed up by grad school.  We bought our house on the 3-5 year plan and expected to use equity from its sale to pay for said grad school.  

After a couple years with KPMG we realized selling the house wasn’t an option.  grad school wasn’t tugging at Richard’s heart strings anymore, but the traveling with KPMG was killing us.  The economy had begun a downturn and there weren’t a lot of options, so Richard threw out a carrot on the end of a string, tied to a stick.   And ever since I’ve devotedly hopped along behind it.  

On that highway across the Snake River plain he told me about international rotations.   Two years in another country,  sponsored by KPMG.  My eyes grew big and I may have been drooling.   We talked, I fantasized, we dreamed, my heart raced.  For years I have kept my eye on that prize.  Through busy season after busy season, I dreamed of years abroad.  

I would bring it up now and then.  He would postpone.  It never “felt right” to him.  To me that just meant that he lacked the courage, or he was procrastinating.  I started to lose hope.  I doubted if he really intended to look into it at all.  

But then, last fall, an idea came along.  An opportunity.  And it finally “felt right.”