Author: Seth Harris

It’s been four days since we arrived in the Netherlands, and it still doesn’t quite feel real. We’re staying near the city center of Leiden in one place for the first month. Our bedroom window has a view of the canals and street below, the Dutch architecture. There are moments of disassociation where I get caught up in reading a book or watching a movie, and my brain is back in Tennessee. Then I look up and out the window and am reminded of where I am. It leaves me thinking, “When will this all feel normal?”

So, I’m writing this from the airport. I’m sitting in the Delta Sky Lounge exceptionally early for our 5:30 connecting flight. I can honestly say that I sat in our hotel room the last 24 hours with anxiety in my gut that we had forgotten something, and they would tell us we could not board. I realized I have so much insecurity still to overcome in my life, and when we are settled, I do need to see a therapist. This morning, as my stomach roiled with worry, I thought about people who just live life without this kind of worry. I think it is a combination of stuff from when I was growing up and the anxiety induced by our extremely class-stratified society.

We have officially sold our house and moved out. We kept waiting for the closing date, and then early Monday morning, our broker told us it would be Wednesday if we wanted. We wanted it and spent the next 24 hours working harder than we have in a long time to pack, donate, and move things over to my sister’s place. This morning we went to the attorney’s office and signed the papers. We were in shock when we learned that because this was our primary residence and we’d sold no other houses this year, we would not be taxed on the sale. This is a life-changing experience because we doubled our money on the house. Because of the insane housing market, we sold it for 92% higher than we purchased.