After living 26 yrs in the USA I have left, and I am going to blog about my life in a new country . I am moving to Australia and currently am “stopping over” with my family in New Zealand . What a whirlwind of exiting the States - what a crazy race to slide into home plate with the deadline of Nov 24 fast approaching . I did move the deadline for many reasons , Matthew my Aussie husband already living iback in Brisbane almost 2 yrs had come down to saying he would believe it when he saw it ..
I look back, exhausted from here at months of packing and months of saying my goodbyes . I had 2 going away parties at my work at the hospital but ran out of time to say goodbye to One of my office workmates ( of 12+yrs) , just like the “Freshman 15 “when kids headed to college without parental guidance/ supervision and access to alcohol and junk foods on campus there is a saying in the USA that there is often a weight gain of 15 lbs ... I had my own version. Of the “Exit 15 “...so many wonderful lunches / dinners and going away parties with friends , patients . And packing and moving - boxes for months and preparing for shipping , then shipping and then moving out of our apartment and then finally moving out of my friends' house after staying for several weeks ...
A world of boxes , and packing tape and permanent marker pens .. and I had 2 surgeries this year also ... which had me on lifting restrictions - now that was rough ! I truly am full of so much gratitudec and love for all of you who helped me pack / move / assisted me after surgery. I have such a wonderful village of people I am honored to call friends ... and for those who couldn’t/ didn’t head physically but provided emotional support also . The idea of moving / packing by myself seemed so daunting as it wasn’t financially feasible for Matthew to return . I even hired a professional organizing company which was a revelation that I could keep working but have someone come and meet me when I could clear a four hour block of time andGael and I would just go for it .
I started selling furniture and appliances/ gadgets - sadly the voltage difference 240 vs 110 and the different hertz cycle between Nz and Australia vs USA meant I had to sell all my beloved kitchen aids - my dehydrator , my food processor and my vita mix and juicer . I will have to begin again in Australia . Though much more expensive there... it may be a slow return ...
As you might well imagine shipping internationally is not cheap - that is an understatement but we decided to fill a container as I had some furniture pieces I had gathered over the years as well as sporting equipment and gear . Matthew had figured once one is shipping a container then we may as well fill it - he researched and bought a used ride on lawnmower several years ago that had been sitting in our garage hungry for some grass to chew on ... kayaks , canoes we thought we can fill those empty vessels with our clothes and put them in. Turns out on the day of moving I found out that they were not putting our clothes in them as they didn’t want them to be unexpectedly heavy when someone was handling them en route causing them to be dropped . Anyway I am way off topic and will blog about shipping another time . Back to my peeps that I had to say goodbye to - friends and families that had become my family over the years .... I always thought I wasn’t so deeply rooted as I was never planning to stay but shaking my roots from their pot was much more difficult than I thought !
I want to thank those who made it happen , who showed up at the moment of need whether it was an SOS call after surgery, or coming to help me pack boxes as the deadline loomed, so grateful for Greg, Andrew, Tony and Alex who showed up at different times to lift and move furniture whether it was the beast of a sleeper sofa just moving it from one room to another which took an hour and was much more complicated than imagined . It involved taking legs off couches and doors off hinges all for better placement to be more enticingly a shorter carry for a potential buyer ( fortunately the woman moving into my apartment decided to buy it solving all such problems )
Greg helped my pick up and move Pilates equipment ..( I am a PT and instructor) move kayaks from garages and furniture and bicycles and John Deere trailer later to a garage for selling . Ruth , Sandy, Guy, Corie,Madeline , Starlight, Joseph, Fran all came to help. I had a “house cooling “potluck for the last gathering at Casa de Bueno Fortuna as we affectionately called our place and mg last night there - my landlady Andrea came down for a glass of wine and to answer the Knock on the door of the kids trick or treating ... all wonderful gatherings and memories . Kristin & Ruth organized a fabulous going away party at the “Five and Dime “a local Evanston restaurant/ bar and I had to severely restrict my guest list due to # of occupants allowed. I know I had to not invite my hospital work colleagues as that is a gang of carribean blue scrub wearing therapists ... I also worked for NorthShore.
Dinners and lunches with so many - so good , so much love and so much gratitude ( from me )
It truly took a village ... staying my final few weeks with Deb and Rens in their beautiful Evanston home -whilst I was still selling and packing and working . I am so sorry I couldn’t have had more time for elevenses ...
Allegra and I ( she lives on Maui and was in town for grandmother duties ) went to Amiitabal a vegan buddhist restaurant for the last time twice ! Lori introduced me to a new fav restaurant in Wilmette Torino Ramen , one last visit to Blind Faith Cafe , Vera -my hairdresser and I went to Rezas in Andersonville...lovely meals shared in homes too Sallie Stanley and the gang ,Paula &Louis, Claudette, Kristin and Susan TePas.
... so many of you- starting with Iris and Paul taking me to lunch back in July as I thought I was moving then (LOL)
Thankyou to all my friends who bought my furniture pieces ... and kitchen gadgets ...
My last night I went with Rens and Deb to the Chicago Botanic Gardens for their amazing light show . And my last day was chaotic whirlwind of packing and sorting ... but more about that later ... in honor of thanksgiving I am giving thanks -you know who you all are ...I know I may have forgotten to mention someone ...
I am deeply grateful for Matthew for his patience love and understanding as my move date kept moving ... hang in there ... pigs are flying , fat lady choirs are singing...
