Eight days, eight weeks
January 8, 2008 at 3:14 Eight days until the packers show up.
As E, who was tense about the move and all the details to attend to, begins to relax a little bit, I find myself getting freaked out and shifting into high gear.
I wake in the night with anxiety over issues I can’t identify. I walk through the house with my stomach churning, jotting down my thoughts and watching the list of tasks to accomplish before the packers arrive next week get longer, not shorter . The better organized we are on this end, the easier the next three months will be.
Here’s how an international move is different than a local one. The movers will come next week and pack out almost all our stuff. Almost being the key word. A thousand pounds of household goods can be left behind for our second shipment, which will leave Belgium in late February.
When the first shipment leaves next week, we’ll be left in our house with a bare bones selection of borrowed furniture plus a thousand pounds of our own household goods—which has to include clothing, dishes, flatware, basic cookware, sheets, pillows, blankets, linens, school supplies, and any tools and cleaning supplies we’ll need to get the house in shape for its final inspection.
A thousand pounds goes fast. You have to be selective and anticipate your needs. From experience I know It’s the little things that drive you nuts—reaching for a paperclip, rubber band, emery board, Ziploc bag, pencil eraser, lens cleaner, envelope, or a pair of scissors and realizing you don’t have them. Or longing desperately for an afghan to curl up under at the end of the day or a favorite sweater, jacket, or pair of shoes that was too bulky to be packed in a suitcase and was already shipped.
It will be EIGHT weeks before we catch our plane to Virginia and move into our house there. Eight weeks of living out of a suitcase, without a car. So I have to think big and think small and make smart choices, not just in terms of being practical but also in staying comfortable from now until mid-March.
Wish me luck!
January 8, 2008
Reader Comments (19)
Maybe I just need less stuff?
Good luck. It'll be over faster than you think.
Any plans for a "We're Leaving Europe" party?
Yes, best idea :)
We'll be in the house with borrowed furniture until the end of February, then in a furnished apartment until mid-March.
Part of the reason for this situation has to do with how we're reimbursed for housing and moving costs as well as our lease on our house here.
Plus, it's actually much easier to find short-term furnished apartment rentals and live without a car here in Brussels than it is in my area of Virginia. With the bus, Metro, and trams and all the small shops in residential areas, it's not too hard to get around and get what you need, plus I have friends here who can help if we get in a jam with transportation.
We also didn't want the kids to be starting a new school while living in a hotel-like setting in the States. We want them to be able to come home to a real house and not feel disconnected from familiar things at home as well as at school.
It seems overwhelming now, but time will go by fast, and before you know it you'll be on your next phase of your adventure. Can't wait to hear how everything plays out. I, for one, am rooting for you.
Hang in there.
xoxo
Hmmm, have you checked with customs and Homeland Security on that one? Of course, I'm sure they'd catch everything for us in a nice net of red tape.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
I can't believe the time has come for you to start packing. It seems like only yesterday I found your blog and read your adventures as a new expat in Europe and now you're going home... [sigh, sniff]
Good luck with the packing, it sounds like you need to do a lot of strategic planning. Hope all goes well.
I, for one, will be glad to have you stateside. We're planning to be in VA in July again; I hope we manage to connect; it has been years!
:)
After living in the same house for 20 years and raising a son, the Boss is on a mission to depopulate the associated clutter and debris.
Pretty soon we'll be scaled back to our near newlywed levels of possessions. Except for the books and the furniture, I think we'll strive to fit our whole lives and things into a car and an SUV with a good Yakima rack system by next summer.
I share your weakness for books and let's not even discuss my boot/shoe collection, but I think there's a lot a family can really abandon and still move forward.
Good luck in your move. Save the room in your suitcases for chocolate, beer, and lace.
You really are a stunning example of a woman.
do your thing, honey!
My last international move left me living out of a suitcase too. Not having the familiar surroundings one is accustomed to can be quite disturbing.
You can laugh, but I got upset when a fridge failed to pass over my revolving staircase :-)
We all have our world we've grown fond of.
Some expats are regular movers and feel no emotions when their worlds are turned upside down.
But we aren't.
Good look with the final preparations!
- a bathrobe (I thought it was too luxurious for living-out-of-a-suitcase, but really missed it!)
- a pair of warm, woolly socks (New England is much colder than Brussels!)
- my library card
- a few glasses, plates, silverware (eating out and paper plates lose their appeal quickly)
- phone numbers
Also: make sure you keep your Modele 8 handy. I needed to show that at airport security because my one-way ticket raised questions.
Good luck!
All will be well... you have Super E on your side! Take a deep breath and come join Wendy and me in the corner!
Move over. I'm bringin' the tequila cause you know I can't ship ANY liquor back to the U.S. so we have to drink it ALL.