Final Days

It's been four days since I left Yuba City for the last time. After living out of suitcases for two months, I could hardly believe it when December 19th finally arrived. The process of moving began for me back in early October. First, I scheduled the International movers to come and take the things I wanted shipped to Australia. After that, I packed up my truck, three seperate times, and took things to two of my sisters in Grass Valley and Livermore. In November, I boxed more things, loaded them into my truck, and delivered them to Goodwill. But, on December 19th, my friend, Todd, came over with his son, Tyler and we emptied my house. I brought a lot of it down to my sister, Jamie, while Todd and Tyler took the rest. It's difficult to describe how I felt as I drove away from my house for the last time. Part of me was smiling so big that my cheeks hurt, but the other part was unexpectedly sad. I had joked with Todd telling him not to cry, and when all was said and done, I was the one who cried.

Now, I am in the Bay Area getting ready for Christmas and splitting my time between my parents' house in Pleasanton and my sister's house in Livermore. My active nephews are keeping me busy and helping the time pass quickly. In addition to spending time with my family, I've had a long to-do list this week. I won't bore anyone with the details of my list, but I will say that the list has dominated my days and kept me from seeing some friends for the last time. I'm sure they understand that moving Internationally is not a simple process ~ especially when it's on Christmas Day.

All of this will be worth it tomorrow when I board that plane. I am NOT a good flyer. I'm what they call a "white knuckle flyer". However, I've flown twice since returning from my summer trip to Australia and both of those flights were uneventful. They were also both short hops down to San Diego, nothing like the 16 hour journey I am about to take off on. But, I keep reminding myself that after the stressful, uncomfortable flight I will be starting a new life with Ryan in Australia and that excites me and makes it all worth it!

Spending time with Mark and JJ