A Little About Me
The boemeltrein to Fiji started as my imaginary escape. Whenever life became too much—or my husband sneezed and behaved as though his final hour had arrived—I would announce that I was taking the boemeltrein to Fiji.
But somewhere along the way, that imaginary escape became a reflection of my own life. Like a boemeltrein, my journey has been unpredictable, frequently delayed and full of unexpected stops—even though I spent most of it trying to travel at express-train speed. Still, the scenery along the way has been pretty wonderful.
I’m Belgian at heart, happily married and the mother of two great children—a 26-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son. Two years ago, I exchanged Belgium for Monterrey, Mexico, and recently, we bought our dream home in Comala, a beautiful little Mexican pueblo.
For more than 25 years, I worked as a personal assistant, which basically meant making sure that everyone else’s life stayed on track. I eventually quit to slow down and try something new. Somehow, however, I ended up working two jobs while continuing to take care of my family—and pretty much everyone else except myself.
Clearly, I’m not very good at slowing down.
Somewhere between the jobs, the responsibilities and the never-ending to-do lists, I lost a little bit of myself. Turning 50 made me stop and ask a very simple question: when do I get to enjoy my life?
I’m honestly done with constantly checking boxes, trying to handle everything and feeling as though I should be doing five things at the same time. I want more room to breathe, more laughter and a lot less rushing around.
Perhaps I don’t need the express train after all. Maybe it is time to embrace the slower journey, enjoy the unexpected stops and stop worrying so much about arriving on schedule.
This trip to Fiji is my first step towards letting go of control. For once, I’m allowing my husband—the ultimate travel princess turned travel coordinator—to organise everything.
For a control freak like me, that is an adventure all by itself.
Fiji is not only a birthday trip. It is the beginning of putting myself back on my own to-do list, enjoying where I am and perhaps rediscovering the woman I lost somewhere along the way.
I have no idea whether I will succeed at this slower way of living—or whether I’ll manage to resist checking my husband’s entire itinerary.
Either way, I’m finally taking the boemeltrein to Fiji, and I’m very happy to have you aboard for the journey.