Welcome to A Traveled Table
A reintroduction or perhaps our first hello?
For those who haven’t heard the story, it’s a good one. What good is life if you don’t make potentially unhinged leaps every once in a while? In the worst case, this story will make for a memorable party ice-breaker for years.
Last year, my husband and I quit our careers in tech, packed up our two young boys, sold everything, and moved to Portugal. After demanding careers, a global pandemic, and the birth of our second son, we were at our breaking point, individually and as a family. You could argue the term “burnout” has been overused lately. I’d argue it’s probably not used enough after the collective stress since 2020.
But that’s exactly where I was - deep burnout decades in the making. I was desperate for a severe course correction. So, we did what any good, inspiring, aesthetically pleasing Instagram reel tells you to do - quit and move to Europe.
That’s precisely what we did. We left it all behind and took off with what you could say was a concept of a plan.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I initially had a beautiful, detailed work of art plan. As the excellent product managers we were, we had a detailed workback schedule outlining every element of our move to Portugal - immigration paperwork, travel itineraries for the four countries in four months, outlines of every possession (including our home and cars) that we sold, packed, or donated, the project plans went on and on.
But after that? Zero plans. Would we stay in Portugal? Maybe? What would we do for work? Something remote? Dust off our bartending skills from college? How long would we stay? Until our visas expire or savings run out? I was so focused on hitting the reset button and getting the relief I desperately needed I couldn’t see the rest.
We would settle in a foreign country we’d never been to, rest, and soak up as much time as we could with our two-year-old and four-month-old boys. After that? No plan, only trust. Trust in me to be able to dig out of whatever possibly foolish hole I was diving headfirst into.
Upending my life and writing about it
Last year, when we shuttered our lives in Seattle and took off searching for something different, I started a little blog. What a fabulous idea! It was a way to document our adventures from Italy and Barcelona and our new lives in Portugal. More accurately, it was probably a way to settle bets between our friends who debated whether we had lost it.
But for me, it wasn’t only a fun side project. A Traveled Table gave me an anchor during sometimes disorienting and bewildering times over the past year and a half. I jumped wholeheartedly into the unknown, but it doesn’t make it less confusing to emerge on the other side.
When you collapse so many pillars of your life, like your place in the world, career, and community, it helps to have something to grasp onto.
As I emerge from our second international move to Paris, I’ve decided not to return to the corporate world. I’ll never tempt the universe and say “never”, but I will say “not today.” Instead, I’ll pour all my time and energy into settling my family into another foreign country, rebuilding a sturdy foundation, and, well, this Substack and building a community here.
That means you’ll hear from me a lot more. So, I thought it is the perfect time to (re)introduce A Traveled Table.
What is A Traveled Table all about anyway?
When I envision A Traveled Table and why I created it, I see so many things that all get us back to the same place. This table is a place for community, good food, and adventure.
It is a place where you can pull up a chair, and people truly want to hear the long answer to “How are you doing, really?” In my humble opinion, to truly answer that question, it should always be over a cozy meal, perhaps with a glass of wine or two.
It’s a place that can hold tough, nuanced, deep conversations. I hope it’s a place where we can challenge how we see our lives and what we can learn from cultures that are different from our own.
It’s a place where we can slow down, linger over a cup of coffee, and have the audacity to ask, “Is this the life I always wanted to live?”
A Traveled Table is not perfect, so please don’t show up that way. It is worn, scuffed, stained, and repaired. It’s long and broken in. There are always enough seats. It has been around long enough to see, hear, and experience some shit. It’s traveled and seen other perspectives. Its wisdom is etched in. By definition, that wisdom means you know enough not to know anything at all.
At its core, that’s what I hope to build here. It is a place for us to come together, talk about the beauty and challenges of life, aspire to develop more aligned lives and sprinkle in a few stories about life in Paris, all over a delicious meal.
Welcome to A Traveled Table!
P.S. I need your help! I’m currently writing a “day in the life” post about life with two kids in Paris. Drop your questions in the comments, and I’ll cover as many of them as possible in my next post. ✨
As someone who recovered from burnout and stayed in the same job where I burned out, I can relate to feeling disoriented on the other side of recovery! I love the feel of what you're doing here. Progress and authenticity over unrealistic attempts at perfection.
Hi there! I think I found you through the Sparkle on Substack group. I love your vision for your publication and can't wait to hear your stories and day in the life! I'm of the opinion that everything's better in Paris, but I wonder could even parenting be more awesome there? And of course, what deliciousness are you enjoying?