Delayed but not Denied

On Friday, I had a virtual happy hour with a close friend.

I had done some thinking since talking to my mom, and somewhere in that thinking, I had an epiphany. My mind was racing through all the potential scenarios of "what's next." Suddenly, the impossible felt possible.

I said to her: I want to try something on. Tell me how it looks.... What if I just figure out how to get to Portugal anyway? What if I make it happen despite all of this?

She thought it looked fabulous.

By Saturday morning, I had a plan.

By Sunday, I had reached out to a contact in Portugal to open a bank account and get my fiscal number — both required for a visa application.

On Monday, a business contact recommended me for a project. It was my first income since March.

On Tuesday, my next-door neighbor — we shared a wall in our townhomes, and theirs was for sale — sent me a note. They'd had four over-asking offers on their place. They loved the couple who came in second, but those buyers needed a VA loan, and the winning offer had a $5,000 escalation clause.

I'm a veteran. I like VA loans.

I asked for the realtor's email. It was 6 a.m. I sent an email saying that if their clients wanted to buy a house, they should make me the same offer they'd made my neighbor. My house had a few features that made it a little better than the one next door, in my humble opinion.

At 6:15 a.m., the realtor called me. Really? He said he knew I was awake since I had just sent him a message.

That afternoon, he did a video walkthrough with his clients, who had already returned to Minnesota.

By the end of the week, I had signed the offer papers. My house was sold.

By October, I packed my car, and Leo and I drove across country to begin our year in Iowa.

I know. I didn't expect it either.

If the world is going to close itself off during a pandemic, it turns out there are worse things than spending that time in the place where your parents, sister, and cousins live. I hadn't lived in Iowa for forty years. My visits had always been rushed — once per year; five, maybe seven days, then back to real life. This was different. Slower. I helped with the small things that are hard to help with from across the country. And I had time — unhurried, unscheduled time — in a way I hadn't had with my family since I was eighteen.

My parents are not getting any younger, and their health isn't getting better. My dad passed away in 2024. I am so grateful for that year.

I got to Portugal in 2021. Not Porto, as it turned out — it's amazing how a year of thinking about where to live allows time to change your mind. Somehow, I found Ericeira, that surfing village on the Atlantic coast where the energy is chill but vibrant, and the light is golden, and everyone, eventually, meets on the beach.

Leo made sure of that.

The pandemic didn't derail my plan. It delayed it. And once I understood that difference, I stopped grieving what was paused and started moving toward what was next.

Delayed but not denied.

Next: What this story has to do with you — and the questions I ask every client.