Nine months...how has it been SO long since I have updated this blog!?!?!
Not quite sure how the time has passed this quickly or how it is possible to have gone through as much change that we have gone through in this short time. This has been the absolutely most life altering time we have ever experienced, some great and some very much not so, but overall putting us in an even better and stronger place.
If you keep up with us on Facebook, you will have had a decent snapshot of what we have been up to over this time period, as that is a quick and easy was to keep our loved ones updated. More details of the bigger things will come in future posts, especially of our amazing trip to Spain and France, and the wonderfulness of our friends that we are blessed to have in our lives.
So what has the day-to-day life of the Mayers been filled with??!?! Too much.
The end of 2015 ended with a crash, of me working entirely too much (while loving my job, it was not boding well for my personal life or mental/physical well-being), my work taking two extra months deciding or not to renew our lease (potentially having to move), and Adam's company unexpectedly losing their UAE contract. This loss left us in limbo of what to do/where to go, as well as for most of the amazing people that filled out life here. It was really hard to watch. Everything, personal and professional, came to a pinnacle and pretty much collapsed for us at the end of 2015. We really had to sit down, examine who were are and prioritize what we really wanted, because life was not going in ways that we wanted or was sustainable. Long story short, Adam joined a new UAE-based company, I significantly pulled back from work commitments and drew necessary boundaries, and most of our core group left the UAE.
With the changing of companies, Adam had so go through the paperwork and visa process again, which left him without a passport for the first 5 months of this year. If you have been wondering why our adventures have been on hiatus.... That and that we were absolutely exhausted from the work-hard, play-harder mentality that we had been living out for 2014 and 2015. We took this time to actually recuperate and focus on well-being, living in and enjoying the present instead of planning the next week/year/trip/move...whatever comes next. Even writing this, I am overwhelmingly aware of how lucky we are to even have these issues in the first place. I am also overwhelmingly grateful for all of the support that came to us from our loved ones, family and friends, during this time, to help us through it. Our lives are so incredible because of you. Thank you.
So the past few months have been spent living a work-life balance, and prioritizing things that address our overall mental and physical well-being. This means focusing on our marriage, our relationships with family and friends, and taking care of ourselves and each other. It has been really nice. Amazingly nice.
I have gotten into a nice workout routine, finally getting into the best shape of my life. Allison was wonderful to have around to kick my ass as a free personal trainer, but Chris and I are holding each other accountable in her absence and keeping the torture going. From this, I have been able to become a "runner", something I would have never though possible. We have run a 5k and 10k this year, and now I run a 5k every morning before work. Yeah, it still blows my mind to be able to say that!
Adam has gotten into tabletop games and is playing competitively a few nights a week, and periodic tournaments on weekends. He has always been much more into gaming than I ever have, so it is awesome that he has found others that share his interest in it. Though I do seriously love a great game of 'Cards Against Humanity' or 'Exploding Kittens'!
We have also been taking dance lessons and are actually starting to get pretty good at it. It was a nice activity for us to pick up, something that we both sucked at together, and had to work together to both get better at. We will never grace 'Dancing with the Stars' or anything like that, but it has been pretty fun to become proficient at the classic dances.
One of the bigger highlights of the year thus far was getting my parents to come visit. That will be a whole post unto its own, but it was so fun much to show them our life here, and see their view change about "life in the Middle East".
So now Adam has his passport back and life has balanced out. We have never been more centered, more happy, and it is time to get back to the entire purpose of our moving out here in the first place: Living life to the fullest. Travel is a huge part of that. So we have some trips on the books and I am SO excited for them. For June we are heading the Bali and Singapore, and July will be spent in Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary.
Over the coming weeks, I will be getting the blog updated with everything, if nothing more than to share the pictures from our experiences. There is so much absolute beauty in this world.
