The “few things”, apart from the nagging voice in both our heads telling us life isn’t all wrapped up and decided now, were a speech given by JK Rowling and a film starring George Clooney. I know these two are not the people you’d necessarily expect to be an inspiration to major life changes but both touched something in me that brought that ugly head rearing up and slightly flipped my stomach.

JK Rowling was giving the Harvard commencement speech. I’ve never really been a fan of Harry Potter but her speech was simple, honest, down to earth and amazing. The words that hit home were about failure: “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you’ve failed by default”. Gulp.

The film was called “Up In the Air” and starred George Clooney. It was about a man who is a loner – works alone, lives alone, no complicated relationships, travels light, keeps a minimally furnished apartment. His main job is firing people but on the side he gives talks and runs workshops called “what’s in your backpack”. These talks exemplify a life free from the clutter of belongings and relationships. He thinks he’s entering into an uncomplicated relationship but finds himself falling in love and starts to question his way of life and his backpack theories.

If I look in my backpack it’s pretty full. It’s full of stuff and people that keep us tied to where we live. Family, friends, routine, house, work. We’ve lived here for two years now and much as we like it it’s an easy place. By easy I mean we don’t have to think much. It’s not challenging. It’s a bit boring if I’m honest. Is that what we want for our girls? For us? Well no, not really. But deciding what we do want involves changing routines we have established, uprooting the girls, maybe learning a new language, the effort of starting again somewhere new. In just two years we have filled a backpack and it’s a heavy load.

I could have a go at lightening my backpack for a bit though. I know I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t give something a try. I tell Simon that this big adventure, whatever it turns out to be, is for me like going for a long run. The thought of it is daunting but with a bit of determination (and some gentle nagging, or sometimes some aggressive bullying!) by the end I feel pretty elated.

So first the where. I think we want to stay in Europe. Maybe explore somewhere we’ve been before but in more depth. Places that spring to mind are South-East France, around Grenoble/Chambery. Beautiful countryside, near the mountains, maybe better for winter. So how about Germany – we love the Black Forest. What about Baden Baden? A bit luxurious and too distracting. We’d never get any work done, we’d be in the spa all the time….So Switzerland. Luzern. The best of everything. Mountains, lake, gorgeous city. A definite contender. Italy. Where? Bologne – only went there for a day, would love to see more. Austria – somewhere in the Tirol. Ok, so we love the mountains!

How? Well we’re thinking of a house swap. Would anyone want to swap with our house in Somerset I wonder? Could we rent our place out for the summer and rent somewhere away? House sitting? My to do list for the next few weeks:

• Look into the house swap idea
• Look into house-sitting
• See how much it costs to rent a small apartment in any of those places for the whole summer
• Research the possibility of renting our house for the summer

Right, off to sort some stuff for a car boot sale. Seriously, no-one will want to swap for our house at the moment.

Any ideas? Anyone house swapped or house-sat? With kids?