All of our earthly possessions had to fit into six suitcases - two check-ins and one carry-on for each of us - so figuring out what to take for this global journey through different cultures and different seasons required a multitude of decisions, some of which were quite challenging. We began the packing process months in advance of our departure date, June 17, 2023.

Melanie was working at Brookdale Senior Living in Austin as Resident Programs Coordinator at the time. It was her favorite job of all time, and she was preparing to leave behind many sweet relationships with both her residents and fellow staff. Costumes and props were a regular part of her job, and on Valentine’s Day the Resident Programs team all wore fun Valentine’s-themed tights and red tutus. At the end of the day, when they were cleaning up from the festivities, Melanie took off her tutu and started to put it in the storage tub when she had the sudden inspiration to take the tutu on the global nomad journey because, after all, you never know when you might need a tutu, right?!

She asked Laura, her boss and close friend, if she could take the tutu and was delighted when Laura said, “Of course!” As we thought through item after item of what to bring and what to leave behind, we both knew that the red tutu should definitely be put in the suitcase! We’ll be posting pictures of the places the red tutu makes its appearance, so stay tuned.

Our blog was originally going to be called “Six Suitcases”, but the inspiration to include a red tutu in our provisions for the global nomad journey meant the title would be “Six Suitcases and a Red Tutu.” And so it was.