Tomorrow is the big day... M day... Moving Day. I can't believe it's actually here. It's all rather surreal still. I'm still thinking of it as a long vacation. Really, I wouldn't see any of you til at least March anyways since it's the time of year to just hunker down and hibernate. Who wants to go out in the cold anyways, right? So you can pretend we're still here til March... I'm going to do the same. It will just be warmer where I'm going - like 60 when I last checked. I know, no sympathy there when we are on what, storm #5 of the season and it's only Jan 2?? I have to say, won't miss that!!
My parents came by today and Josh's sister, Becky - both emotional goodbyes. It was a fun afternoon with VERY hyper kids (thanks Mom and Dad for all the chocolate!) but it was a happy afternoon. Til we said goodbye. It took everything in me to not cry and while I got teary, I did well. Because it's a long vacation, remember?? Skype, facebook, the blog and our vonage phone will keep us close. We aren't going to a third world country - we'll have all the same ammenities (though slightly different I'm sure) over there that we do here. I just keep telling myself that. Honestly I'm more sad that the kids won't see everyone - it's easy for myself and Josh to stay in touch - but much harder for the kids, even with Skype. It will be an adjustment for all, but we'll make it work - we have to!
Of course as I write this, the full force of what's going on is hitting me. We are leaving tomorrow. Excitement, terror, sadness...all rolled into one. I've said it before and so I'm sorry for saying it again - Josh always says I'm repetitive, I guess he's right. I guess it's just because it's true. I'm in an emotional rollercoaster and can't find a way to get off this ride. This is not a lifetime away - it's 2 years. It will fly, yet part of me hopes it will go slow enough so we can appreciate all there is to offer to us while living abroad. If we are going to do this, let's do it right! My friend Gena just emailed me and said she admired what we are doing, another has said we have a lot of guts - I just have to say to them and everyone else, how could we not do this? Josh and I have never lived outside of MA. How could we not seize this opportunity to live somewhere "exotic" for 2 years of our lives and truly experience somewhere else. I think as sad as we are to leave, we would have regretted not taking this opportunity.
I have to digress for a moment... mainly because I just heard this informercial. I used to work in informercials so I have a thing for them and I NEVER buy anything infomercial related for the most part. But I must note, in preparation for our move, a few months ago I went on an infomercial buying frenzy! Space bags like you have never seen - I must have a gazillion! Ok, not that many, but A LOT! And I bought Wonder Hangers - a lot of those too. And there is an under the bed shoe storage system that I got several of. All talk about for downsizing so perfect for us! Will let you know how the wonder hanger and shoe storage go. The space bags are ingenious and I love them...though sometimes they reinflate which is kind of annoying. But overall, they work great and I highly recommend them!
Back to tomorrow. The game plan is to get up, get the last bit of laundry in, finish packing, and just wait. Wait wait wait. Say some more goodbyes. They are going to get more and more emotional as the time to leave comes. The house gets emptier each day as we pack more stuff into our basement (god we had a lot of stuff...too much stuff!). The suitcases are 95% packed already. All we need to do is put our sheets / blankets in storage in the basement, finish packing our last bits of stuff like the dvds, wii, toothbrushes, etc and then a quick vacuum, neaten up stuff and we're off!!
Aidan told me tonight he doesn't want to go. He wants to know when we decided this. I told him this summer when we told him! I told him that he probably should have told us before the night before that he didn't want to go... not that he had a choice but he doesn't need to know that. I told him that we are a family and we will get thru all the changes in front of us as a family and that he is not alone and is not taking on these new adventures and challenges alone - we will be there with him. He'll be fine and he will adjust. Liam just thinks we're going on a plane tomorrow and that's it, of course he thought Josh was on a plane all 3 weeks he was gone in December (that's a very long plane ride!). I think he will adjust very easily... for him I think it will remind him of the cape house - we go for a bit, we come home. He will just think of it as a vacation home. I hope he has memories of here when we come back since he's so young now.
I'm hoping for a good night sleep tonight... probably wishful thinking! Will write more tomorrow!
Julie
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