This time next week...

So I sit in front of the laptop, in a house virtually empty of furniture and belongings, to pen (metaphorically speaking) my latest epistle.  Essentially all the dice have been cast, all the decisions made and now we just need to tick off items on a list until we get on the plane.  This time next week we will be somewhere over the Atlantic on the first leg of the journey to a new home.  The better half has been fantastic in organising all the tedious details of packing up our life here.  I have been given tasks to do and, occasionally, I am allowed to use my initiative.  As the stress has built over the last week me, using my "initiative" has resulted in raised voices and strops on both our parts.  Thankfully we always manage to find the perspective in the situation.

Just ticking items on a list is very detached from the reality of moving to another country.  Every so often I have to stop and remind myself of the enormity of what we are actually doing.  The next moment I remember that we are not the first people to emigrate and everything we are doing has been done before.  My mind then usually takes a roller coaster ride and I realise; how will I cope without the wonderful people in my life in the UK; did I pack my black fleece; how are we going to reduce the weight of two of our suitcases (baggage allowance issues are a nightmare); what am I going to do for work when I get there; will we get strip searched at LA Airport because I have "that look" about me; did I have lunch today;  will this snow ever stop? ad infinitum

I then wonder if I have too much time on my hands to think about all these things and get back to the next item on the list, all the time day dreaming  - this time next week...

Almost there...but not quite.

So the furious activity continues.  Packing, organising, visiting, labelling, cataloguing, re-organising, re-packing, re-labelling, some more visiting, cleaning, re-cataloguing and occasionally remembering to breathe.  The good news is that as we get closer to the end decisions actually become easier.  Not sure if this is because time limits our options or we make better decisions under pressure.  Either way it feels like the end is in sight.  The best new is the return of our passports from NZ Immigration, complete with residents visas.

We are looking forward to our final catch ups with everyone;  next Wednesday - Northampton, next Friday - Derby and next Saturday - Luton.  More news soon - stay tuned.

The Countdown

So this is the first post to this blog which I intend to update regularly (at least once a week) with news, comment and general chit-chat about my new life in New Zealand.  I say "my life" but really that should be "our" life as I would not be going were it not for the brilliance of my better half, Laura, in getting a job out there.  It is eighteen days, and counting, until we fly. Air New Zealand from Heathrow all the way to Wellington with changes in Los Angeles and Auckland.  Final preparations are underway and, at the moment at least, we are all on schedule.  We did have a ridiculously long list of things to do which until last week only ever seemed to get longer.  Somehow, we are over the worst and have ticked of nearly 90% of it within the last few days.  Everything is still surreal (an over used word but not sure how else to describe it).  The final hurdle is sorting out Georgie  (the horse) so we don't have to keep shelling out for her upkeep once we have gone.  Fingers crossed we find someone to loan her to very soon.  We only wish we could take her with us.

It has been fantastic to catch up with family and friends since Christmas.  We know with our busy lives it can be months between visits.  We'll have a real excuse soon.  Of course, everyone we know is welcome to come and see us after we have settled  in.  (Just don't all turn up at the same time.)  Before we leave we will endeavour to see as many people as possible (in amongst packaging the remainder of our belongings).  We firmly believe the hardest thing is going to be leaving all you wonderful people behind.  Enough gushing for now; signing off for the time being.