Up until 2008, our lives were filled with mostly normal suburban Ohio family activities - running our kitchen & bath design firm, kids sports on the weekends, family holidays - all the good stuff. And then ... we made a big change.
In 2009 we had the opportunity to move to Pretoria, South Africa, to help establish a medical clinic in the township of Mamelodi. We packed up our lives here in the US and headed off on an amazing (and sometimes very difficult) adventure. It’s impossible to summarize in a paragraph, but what we experienced in South Africa was life changing. This time in our lives was filled with hard work, community, learning, travel and character building challenges. We were fortunate enough to be welcomed into the lives of so many kind and generous people. When we are asked about our favorite part of living in South Africa, the answer is always “the people”. We were also fortunate to have the opportunity to travel extensively in sub-saharan Africa and create priceless memories exploring this diverse, beautiful continent. It lives on in our hearts and always will.
When our time came to leave South Africa, we were not ready to return to the United States - Will had been exploring the idea of getting an MBA, so we decided to take a “gap year” while he pursued that goal in Europe. Carolina was already in the English school system, so England made sense in more ways than one. We ended up staying on - Will pursuing a PhD and working as a consultant, Beth working for the University and Carolina - well she was literally the poster girl of her school - featured on the front page of their website :). We spent the next several years living a very English life and exploring as much of Europe as possible. By the time we left, we had some very full passports, great memories and friends from all over the world.
Back in the USA, Carolina had a few more years of high school to complete. Will and Beth focussed on all things real estate. Beth found a passion for saving old homes in particular and Will formed a real estate investing partnership. Carolina headed to Florida for university and then NYC to begin a career in Fashion. We thought downsizing was the right move, but, as we all know, the world has changed in ways no one could anticipate, and our idea of “home” has changed as a result. In the most roundabout way possible, we are finally ready to settle down and establish some roots.
