התפטרנו ונסענו למזרח - באמצע החיים - או משהו כזה

"I can't fall asleep. I am too excited" said to me Ofra, my wife. It was way after midnight, upstairs, in our bedroom, yet she found it hard to fall asleep. Thoughts kept coming into her mind. Things to do, things to remember, last arrangements.

This was twelve days before departure. Our long trip starts soon. We just signed on an agreement to rent out our home. We will be packing again, another packing and closing of our home and belongings. Like several times in the past, we will be "homeless" again, this time being very different than the others.

In the past, it was relocation or moving, whether within Israel, or the three times we moved for a period to the United States with a new job assignment. We are well trained, and know the routine. Pack, ship or move, disconnect from phone service, Internet, electricity, local taxes, mail forward, the whole nine yards. A pain in the butt, yet we do it again and again.

This time it is for travel only. Two backpacks is all we will have as belongings for the next few months, up to a year. The rest remains behind, closed. Nothing goes. So you really need to think hard what to pack, what to leave behind.

It's the virus. More accurately, the Travelis Acutis Extra Worldwide Virus itself, or as it is sometimes referred to in the medical-travel thesaurus dictionary, the "Travel Forte". So far no one found a vaccine against it, or knows the exact origin. Nor will we probably ever be willing to take it, anyhow. We are severely contaminated, the circumstances unknown (almost).

So here we will be packing again. This time it is different. We are going on a backpackers trip to South East Asia. First, for three months. Then we plan to come back to Israel for Passover, visit the kids and my in-laws, then back to the road, destination unclear yet. Perhaps Europe for a while, perhaps back to Asia. There are so many destinations, and so little time to visit them all.

We rented out our home for one year, leaving all our stuff packed in two closed rooms of the house. A very nice couple will live in, and hopefully take good care of our trees, garden and property.

Although the seeds were planted long ago, and the virus was working it's way slowly to the surface, every now and then manifesting itself in a new trip to here or there, this one developed slightly differently.

It all began a few months ago. I was not very happy with my new job. It was not the pond I usually swim in, or love very much. I have nothing to complain, I searched diligently for that one, but with time discovered (surprise, surprise!) that I don't really like it. So I quit, to keep this part of the story short. I remained in very good terms with my friend, former colleague and now employer, but I quit.

Other things were happening around us at the same time. Ofra was holding two jobs, one out of habit, the other one a newfound love and dream in the antiques field.

Some friends from my and our childhood died suddenly, others had all kinds of diseases or where slightly incapacitated. And maybe it is only the age, or that famous "mid-life" crisis? I have never experienced any "at-forty, or at-fifty life crisis", nor any other similar one, for that matter, so at fifty four this took me a bit by surprise.

We realized that we have a window of opportunity family-wise, with both our daughters married and still studying, busy and not pregnant, and with my in-laws in an advanced age but in good health. It was now or never. If we would both leave our jobs, we could go now. Far. Like we always dreamed of.

One thing led to another, and at some point Ofra and I started to discuss that dream, one we many a times thought of, namely to let go of everything and start a long travel.

Something like getting off the planet for a while. It was something we dreamed of, each of us in his and her's own way, but with a lot in common. We both love to live overseas, experience new cultures, know new people and have new exciting experiences. We get excited from every new trip, road or motel we encounter. Every new culinary experience, mountain, local concert or host brings our adrenaline to high levels. We simply love it.

And we also have some different views about this issue too, of course. I would love to volunteer and live in remote places, helping the poor or the uneducated, while Ofra would love to pursue her newfound dream, hobby and future career in antiques.

One thing is sure. We LOVE to travel.

From one thing to the other, the idea of the long trip in South East Asia started to get a life of it's own. The destinations set in general were Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar, then we'll see what next, after the Passover break and pause back home.

We had a hard time to rent out our home. Bad timing, January. Plus we were not sure exactly what and for how long we wanted to be gone. The right person did not arrive. Until l twelve days before departure.

We are familiar with the period "just before leaving", but now, there was another dimension added to it. We agreed to close two rooms and leave all our stuff there, while the new tenants will use the rest of the home. Several unusual questions arose, though we did this too, once, a few years back. What do we pack, what stays? Where do we put things we will want available or handy?

These are few of the questions we need to answer in the coming few days, then in the weeks and months to come. What's next? For how long? Where to? What are the goals, if any? And there are some other issues slightly troubling our thoughts. What if? What if something bad happens while we are away? Do we turn around and cancel? Do we stop in the middle? What next?

After all, my in-laws are not young any more, and things happen. And the girls, what if one gets pregnant? Do we come right back to be close by, or keep rolling? What if an outstanding job opportunity presents itself? What then? It is not very easy to say "we just keep on moving", or "keep on trucking" as the song says. After all, we are in the middle of life, more or less. And finding a good job is not easy at our age, of course, and with this economy.

Anyway, all this and more runs through our heads, no wonder we sometimes can't fall asleep to fast. And on the other side, there is the enthusiasm, the joy, the wonder of new lands, new folks, new adventures that we look forward to so much.

Anyway, this is the issue at hand. Our friends are all happy and encouraging, our family will miss us but they too want to see us happy in pursuing our dream. And we just start to get excited, not fully understanding that in a bit more than a week our lives will stand upside down.

Looking forward to our travels and adventures, I wonder what will be the best way to document this trip, and from which perspective. Whether it should emphasize the travel aspect, or the change-in-mid-life aspect, or perhaps something else will come up. To do it in Hebrew? In English? Maybe it will result in a book. Who might be the target audience? Israeli? Worldwide? I will let these questions sink in, but one thing is sure. Document I will (I always do anyway). So let's wait patiently and see. In any case, I will post something here and there from time to time, time and internet connection permitting.

And of course there will be the Facebook posted pictures and albums.