Hello all,
I have received several emails the last few days asking if it true that we are leaving Cuenca.
It is true.
We are moving to Bend, Oregon.
That is the short version.
If you want the loooong rambling version, read on. :))
Brennie and I met and fell in love in Oregon 32 years ago.
We met in graduate school.
We were both career change students.
We moved to Minnesota 30 years ago because, upon graduation, there were only 6 job openings nationwide in Brenda's field.
She was offered the job in Minnesota.
It was an opportunity that we could not pass up.
When we moved to Minnesota, it was with the intention of returning to Oregon in a few years.
That is not how it worked out.
After 6 years in Minnesota, we were planning a return to Oregon.
I had job interviews lined up and the house was for sale.
But we had young children by then and believed that the best thing to do as a family, was to make sure Alex and Caitie had family around them as they grew up.
Brenda's family was in Kansas.
Mine was in So. Cal.
So we moved to Kansas and spent the next 20 years there.
Kansas just wasn't a good fit for us
We yearned for Oregon.
Alex and Caitie grew up in Topeka, but were always hearing about Oregon.
But, Brennie and I also started dreaming of South America.
About 15 - 18 years ago Brennie and I started discussing and researching a South American retirement.
We made a couple trips to Mexico and spent 2 months in Cuenca to see what kind of fit we found.
At the same time we were considering Bend and Portland.
We never lost sight of the fact that we wanted to return to Oregon.
We romanced several ideas, including a houseboat on the Columbia River.
When it came time to pull the trigger, we moved to Cuenca.
Caitie moved to Portland while we were planning our move to Cuenca.
Alex moved to Bend less than a year after we moved.
We have visited Alex and Caitie 4 times in the last 30 months.
We miss them.
We are very fortunate in that we are a close family.
Caitie is married now and planning (threatening?) to have a baby in the next year or 2.
We knew last June/July when we visited, that we would, at some point, return to Oregon ..... probably Bend.
Our plan was to return in early 2016, but we are moving the date up to this October or November.
I have only lived where I have wanted to live, twice in my life.
The 10 years in Oregon as a young man and the last 4+ years here in Cuenca.
The rest of my life, I have lived where I have had to.
The same for Brennie; her 2 years in Oregon and Cuenca.
It is with heavy hearts that we prepare to leave Cuenca.
But we are equally excited to rejoin Alex and Caitie in a place that has always been close to our hearts.
We have spent the last couple weeks either crying or dancing.
Before our visit last June/July, I bought a Harley in Oregon for my use in future visits ...... looks like I will be using it more than I thought.
We have bought a house in Bend.
Brennie has bought a Vespa 300 that will be waiting for her when we get there.
Our lives have been full and active in Cuenca.
We expect the same to be true of Bend
Cuenca has been wonderful for us.
It has been a dream come true.
Moving here was NOT a mistake, nor something that we will ever regret.
We will always look back at it as one of the best times of our lives.
One of the greatest things that happened to us here is that the love we found in each other so many years ago, has been renewed and re-energized here.
We are so lucky to have re-discovered each other.
Another thing that must be said is that we are extremely grateful for the friends that have enriched our lives here.
We thank all of our Cuenca friends for being the kind of people they are.
I am getting little weepy now and not real proud of it.
I could go on, but do you really want me to?
Life is Sweet,
Clarke
