I didn’t count down to the end of Portugal. It didn’t seem right.

No, I suddenly realized I had only a week left when I looked at the calendar the other day.

And now, there’s even less. Hours, barely days.

I knew the time would go quickly – it always does when it’s pleasant. Vacation always seems to fly by, but the hours at work or school can crawl.

Still, it seems like I just started my 88 days in Portugal.

When I got the dates for my flight, I plugged them into my Google calendar, which told me I had 88 days here. Just shy of the 90 days I’m allowed as a tourist.

At home in Portugal

Friends and acquaintances here ask if I will stay or come back. I’ve had a number of people tell me that Lisbon pulled them in, and now they can’t imagine being any place else.

I get that.

Of course, I might feel that way no matter where I’d gone.

Take Chattanooga. That was technically my first stop. I made some good friends there. It’s a beautiful place, and I’m pleased I’ll be going back there for a while. It always will feel a little bit like home now, too.

So will Lisbon. It feels like home, because I’ve made it so in the past few months. I wasn’t just passing time – I was living here. This has been my home – my (shared) flat, my room, my life.

Will I return to Portugal? Absolutely. I love it.

Of course, it’s a big world, and there’s much I have yet to explore. Originally, my plan was to move to Portugal so I’d have a good place from which to visit Europe. That may still happen. The only drawback to Portugal is housing, and I even had the best experience with that. Things really do work out. So, I’m confident when I come back, I’ll find a good place to live again.

At this point, I don’t know when that will be. It could be in six months, or a year, or six years. I haven’t planned that far out. Shocking, I know, especially from a planner like me.

My lifestyle now, allows me to be more flexible. As opportunities arise, I want to allow for that. I don’t need to plan every detail of my life. Maybe that’s my next challenge – letting go and just letting things happen. It’s scary just typing it — must mean that’s what I need to do.

Kind of like when I needed to move to Portugal.

Portugal compelled me

I know there were people who thought I was crazy and just didn’t understand it.

Why Portugal? Because I had to.

I’ve proven to myself it can be done, and I can do it.

Sometimes, people tell me I’m brave. I don’t see myself as brave. It was something I simply had to do. Not doing it wasn’t an option. That would have been failure, and failure was not an option.

This has been a success on so many levels. Mostly, I proved I can do what I set my mind to – turn a dream into reality.

I can move someplace for three months and fall in love with it.

Count down to the end

After spending so much time, effort and energy to get here, I knew I couldn’t simply count down to the end. Really, I don’t want to leave. If circumstances were different, I’d be applying for a visa so I could stay and rebooking my flight.

But I need to be back in the States this summer and fall. I’ve got commitments there to several people, just as I had a commitment here to myself.

While I will miss Portugal and the friends I’ve made here, I know I’ll be back. It’s like saying goodbye to my family and friends in the US to come here. I knew I’d see them again.

The difference is, I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be back to Portugal. I do know, however, that I will return. From the first time I saw it, I knew I’d be back. This is a long-term relationship, for sure. There’s still so much more to learn and explore.

I couldn’t look away from that, even as the days draw to a close. Because it’s not a count down to the end, it’s a continuation.

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Be a Better Writer Tip

Compromise to keep writing

I have several writing projects of my own right now, and one needs my focus. But I’m avoiding it. It’s gotten too big, although it’s actually pretty well organized.

My first impulse today when faced with it was to not write at all, but that’s not the best solution.

I compromised. I worked briefly on the project, and then I worked on other writing, including this column, which I’ve been wanting to write, but I hadn’t put in the time on it.

In my experience, it’s more important to write something. If I didn’t write at all today because I was avoiding the project, it would be harder to write tomorrow, or the day after.

So, while I spent a little time on it, I then allowed myself to work on other writing projects, too.

It’s better to work on something – anything – than to avoid writing entirely and get out of the habit.

Simply writing every day is important for a writer. Big projects can be exciting and daunting. Don’t let them turn you off from writing altogether. Compromise if you need to to stay in the habit.