Getting There

The original title of this post was "All Organized" which is what I thought I was - for about 5 seconds. However, as soon as I typed in those words, I kept thinking of all kinds of odds and ends that I still need to take care of before the movers arrive on Tuesday - and that is when the anxiety set in. I have stopped keeping lists because I would cross three things off and add five. I was getting nowhere - except closer to a panic attack - fast. It is all so overwhelming and I feel like I am barely keeping it all together. To be honest, after the kids left for school this morning, I crawled back into bed, pulled the covers over my head and had a little pity party. Deep breaths.  

I keep telling myself that this is one of the easier moves we have done...everything is going to end up in Virginia at some point. How quickly it gets there is just a matter of how well I organize things on this end. Our air freight (700 pounds) should take about 3 weeks to reach us. Our sea freight shipment is more significant (7,200 pounds) and that can take anywhere from 60 - 90 days. I am sending about 90% of our kitchen stuff via air freight as well as bed linens, towels, clothing and miscellaneous office items. I keep reminding myself that we are moving to an area that has, in immediate proximity to our home, every restaurant, grocery store and retail establishment known to man. We will be able to buy anything we need, want or might have forgotten to send in the appropriate shipment. The kids can fit almost everything they need in their suitcases to take on the plane and the rest of their stuff will go by sea freight. I will note that Kevin's golf clubs are set aside for him to take with us on the plane. He seems to be anticipating that there will be some golfing to be done shortly after we arrive in the U.S. Little does he know...

We did receive great news in that our tenants have found a new home to rent and will be leaving ours, possibly as early as June 25th! I initially thought our lease with them ended on July 31st but as I was going through paperwork this past weekend, I read through the lease (always a good idea) and saw the earlier expiration date. Although we will stay in a hotel until our air and sea freight arrives, it will be nice to have access to the house right away. We have a lot of work to get done - painting, installing new carpet, refinishing hardwood flooring and minor renovations - and it will be so much easier to have the work done while the house is vacant. All of our furniture is in storage so as soon as all of the repair & maintenance work is completed, that can be delivered and we will begin to settle in. 

One of my first priorities is to have a fence installed for Sonder and I have been busy searching pinterest for ideas. He is going to love having a large yard to explore and run around in. I would like to adopt another dog to keep him company and think it would be best to do that as soon as possible after our move back. After being an only dog for over a year (and having our undivided attention), I am worried that Sonder might have some issues with sharing "his" family and it might be best to introduce Sonder and the new dog to the house at the same time to put them on equal footing. 

Back here in BKK, I am going to be giving away my plants and water garden and am worried about what will happen with this little guy. 

He usually hangs out on the edge of the water garden during the late evenings and early mornings but last night I saw him climbing up the wall to jump into the water garden. I don't know where he lives and don't want to take away his source of water so I am trying to think of a plan to catch him and then transport him to wherever the water garden ends up. Am I over-thinking this? Kevin would tell me to just move the water garden and let him be - survival of the fittest - but I would be sad to take away his home. Then again, it is only a frog. 

Although some days are better than others, my stomach is still a mess. I think it has improved over last week though so I will give it some more time. I really don't have a choice because I have so much to do and can't fit in a doctor's appointment and all that it would entail right now. I had a hard time running last week with my stomach issues and the heat & humidity but this week - knock on wood - it has been much better.

I will be finishing up with our trip to Cambodia. Christopher had some photos on his iTouch that I needed to download to include in my post. 

Have a great Thursday!