Certainly starting to get real

It has been months since we first started talking about moving to London. Seems like things moved at a snail’s pace, and the whole kerfuffle about our visas slowed things even more.

Now things are moving and the whole experience is getting very real. We put our house on the market, and within two days had an offer to buy. Our kids have been identifying things they want to take, and our possessions are beginning to dwindle. We’ve now signed a contract for a company to come and sell most everything in our home. We’ll store a few special items, and move a very few things to London. Much of what we’ve accumulated over 40 years of marriage (and some from even before) will go away. And while much of the stuff is just stuff, the memories associated with it make the process stressful at best.

Next step is to find a flat in London that we’ll call home for the next 3 years. The relocation company has already warned us that having 3 cats to move in will complicate our choices. What that actually means remains to be seen. But getting a flat identified and contracted, with a set move-in date, is crucial. Assuming all goes well with our home sale, we will need to be out of the house in early June. Hopefully, we will have a place to move into about the same time. The uncertainty of all that ratchets the stress levels up a few notches. The timing is getting to be very tricky. Sometimes all the doubts crowd in and we find ourselves thinking, “Oh, what have we done?!” Usually a good night’s sleep helps with that, but more and more often we are waking up in the middle of the night to stew about all the things we need to do, and all the arrangements that have yet to be made. It is exciting… yes, but also very, very… terrifying.

All said, I think one day we’ll look back on all this and conclude it was the right thing to do. That day won’t come next week, or probably next month. For the sake of our sanity, we’re hoping it isn’t much longer.

At least now, things are moving ahead and we can start to look forward to our new adventure becoming a reality.