The Trip that Changed my Life Forever

“I went for long walks and I met myself in Paris.“

Sabrina

Since I was a very little girl, watching The Aristocats of all things, I had dreamed of going to Paris. And we made those dreams come true when Alex and I took off in 2016 for my 30th birthday. I remember crying, like full-on tears, when I saw the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower in person. Soon I’ll share my travel guide to Paris, just like I’ve shared my guides to Prague, Salzburg and Budapest. But for now, I want to share with you why I consider Paris to be the trip that changed my life forever. 

We were strolling down the Seine on a gorgeous August evening, chatting about the future, our future. It’s always been our plan to live abroad once we had our careers on a clear path and we could afford to jet off for a few months here and there. With metaphorical rose-colored glasses perched on our noses, we spoke about living in a flat in London for a month during Christmastime, renting out a houseboat in Amsterdam in the Spring, and even booking a chateau in the South of France during the Summertime. 

But those glasses soon came off and the first thing I thought of was, “wait, what about our children?” 

We had no children. That was the problem. Here we were, planning our golden years and we hadn’t focused on the most pressing issue of all. While yes, I was only 30 then and even now we have plenty of time if we want to expand our family beyond Arielle, we hadn’t decided on when to have children. 

My next thought was, “I cannot wait to show my future babies the beautiful places that I’ve already been to.” I wanted them to see Paris, London, Quebec City, Amsterdam, and Mexico City. I also imagined exploring new places with them that I hadn’t yet had the chance to go to. 

Paris made me realize not that I was missing something in my life, but rather that I wanted to add to my life. It was in Paris that I decided I really wanted to grow our family so that Alex and I could live in that little flat in London with our child, float in that houseboat in Amsterdam as a family, and fill that chateau in the South of France with laughter and even a toy or two. 

I’ve been very honest that I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mother. 

But during that trip, I went for long walks and I met myself in Paris. And I discovered that she wanted to be a mom. And it’s the best decision I ever made. Merci, Paris.