What a year! It’s amazing what all can happen in just 365 days.

Never a dull moment in my life

It’s been a life changing year, on all levels of my life. I have taken myself out of my comfort zone and started a complete new chapter as a nomad, and the first full year as a widow.

From the bottom of my heart I am grateful and thankful that I have the opportunity to combine my passions, traveling, supporting the events industry, meeting people each with their unique stories and at the same time helping people with their grieving process. One blog is toooo short to share all what happened in 2022, just read the previous blogs about my adventurous life.

If you told me 2 years ago that I would become a nomad, I would not be able to believe you. Next, I was a real down to earth person and was totally not into spirituality. Of course I heard it when people said it was meant to be but never really felt it. Until my husband passed away in July 2021 and a complete new world opened. Too many ‘coincidences’ and the people that I met, abroad and in the Netherlands, each of them gave me something to continue my intense and tough journey.

My first event for grievers

One of my highlights of 2022. On Saturday 17th December I organized the first grieving walk along the beach, together with Lianne. Here in my hometown where I grew up and the starting point was my wedding location, Kontiki Beach. Not knowing what I could expect and how I would feel, we gathered a group of grievers, people I had never met before. During the day we created such a powerful synergy and we achieved even more than we were aiming for. Our aim was to give them a little of the joy of life again, we can’t take their pain away, neither their loss but we can make their journey a bit lighter. These words were exactly the feedback we received from the participants, incredible! And moreover, they all want to come back for another walk! The most beautiful compliment we can receive.

It was like a symbiose of the weather, the location, the collaboration with Lianne, the presence of the press, and moreover the participants… a match made in heaven :-)

Again, if you would have told me 2 years ago that I would go back to my role as eventprof and organizing walks for grievers, I would have laughed it away. Never say never!

Physical impact

My grieving therapist told me, after a year the grieving goes into your body. Damn, she was absolutely right! I was never ill before. I started the year with Corona in March, two lipomas were removed from my shoulder, one in July and one in December, twisted my ankle, had such incredible stomach pain that I thought that I had to go to the hospital in Poland, and many many more medical incidents. And thanks to this process my menopause started, hallelujah. And my energy level is still not recovered, stuck at 65 %. It’s incredible that a grieving process has such a long lasting impact, not only ‘just’ emotionally but also physically. Again here, I can’t stress this enough, we don’t talk about grief but moreover, we don’t talk about the physical impact at all!

Travels

I came back home in December from my second trip, after a 4 month journey. In total I have travelled in 2022 with my camper 7 months and visited Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. I have taken myself out of my comfort zone, despite the fact that I already had an adventurous life. It gave me strength to continue and follow my path. And for me it was the perfect way to deal with the situation. Sometimes I call my camper my best medicine ever. Follow your gut feeling!

Einstein

I have laughed, screamed, cried, danced, drunk, smoked, talked, ziplined, walked, run, biked, and many many more activities (and emtions!) during my journey. And since the second part of my journey I decided to give my camper a name. Appartently this is very common among the camper community, I was not aware, you learn along the way. The next time I don’t talk about my camper anymore it will be Einstein. I couldn’t find a more appropriate name for my home and office on wheels.

And Einstein just came back from his yearly control and he’s in a perfect state! Thank you Einstein for your good company and support during many many hours of my journey.

Just a few highlights of 2022

• I drove 21000 km with Einstein (and never had or drove a camper before)

• Had a burglar(s) in my camper on the third day of my second journey who stole the old I-phone of Christophe 

• Found an intruder in my camper on 4 legs who jumped through the window and curtain to eat the food of Loekie

• Went to vet during my journey; Loekie was traumatised of the burglary and still suffering until today

• Twisted my ankle in Split and had to go to hospital. It was one of the most intense emotional breakdown during my journey and felt so f…. lonely

• Two lipomas removed in my shoulder 

• The menopause started… such fun!

• Cried buckets full of tissues

• Started to drink coffee! Yes, incredible, Mariska is drinking coffee now :-)

• Smoked the most cigarettes in my life and became an occasional smoker 

• I meet the most extraordinary and inspiring people during my journey

• I had a picknick and fantastic conversation with a Mexican biker in the south of Albania

• After more than a year I could open my heart again for love 

• I accepted the first invitation for a dinner for two from a complete stranger

• Thank you Nyomi and Marie for visiting me during my journey, and Ashley & Hippie ofcourse!

• I can really laugh again 

• I can enjoy life again

• I became more patient 

• I became a better listener and still practising 

• The first time in my life that I took time off to take care of myself and put myself on number one, and still learning how to do this.

• I took a break from social media! Yes, me :-)

• I invested in myself and booked for the first time a retreat, focused on self development and it was damn good!

• I became a campfire lover

• I took 3 times a hitchhiker(s) with me; another way to go out of your comfort zone

• And I even played Maria in the church in my village in December, I have a new role ;-)

• I am surrounded by lovely and caring people, friends and family. Grateful to have them around me and that they were present in the most difficult time in my life. 

• PS looking for a holiday destination; I found Albania the most relaxing destination to travel around as a woman alone.

• PPSS I have so many amazing, funny, emotional stories of my journey that I can fill many hours during a campfire. The blogs are only a tip of the iceberg.

Thank you all for your compliments, I was not aware that I have such a loyal fanclub! Stay tuned for more stories and adventures in 2023.

I am already looking forward to my next destination, Switzerland and la douce France. Happy to be back home but I miss Einstein and my camping life.

I wish you all a healthy, joyful and sparkling 2023, and keep enjoying life! See you soon.