I keep hearing the line in my head from the movie Almost Famous "It's all happening!"
Yesterday we officially booked our flights to Ireland. We depart this country on April 14th.
I can't believe it...it's all happening! We have spent the last 2 years prepping, fundraising, and sharing about our mission to Ireland knowing it was coming to fruition sometime in the future....the distant future. The future just caught up to us and it is becoming very real.
After we hit send and secured our tickets on Aer Lingus, I had a strange reaction. I suddenly felt very overwhelmed. Of course in true Genesis "can't do anything normal" fashion, "overwhelmed" manifested itself not in panic, anxiety, hyperventilation or nervous laughter. No...I developed an acute and speedy case of narcolepsy. I immediately fell asleep. As I now begin the process of planning our departure, I am really afraid I will wake up in a rubbermaid container in our storage unit or in a half packed suitcase wedged between a stack of size 4 Spongebob underwear and my scrapbooks.
I just have so many decisions to make and I am not sure where to start!
How exactly does one pack to relocate to another country? Do you go light, or cram as much as you can into 3 suitcases that weigh 300lbs each? Do you try to stockpile as much American gear as you can or just let it go and resolve to find new ways to outfit your family and home? Do I pack my favorite stainless steel measuring cups, or get revved up to buy ones marked with grams and milliliters? Oh, yeah I think I will enjoy weighing myself in kgs instead of lbs...much smaller number. Leave a comment on any good packing advise, insight or tips. I can really use some perspective.
A far worse problem is how to say goodbye to my family and friends.
I can't think about it at all. I think I am going to fall asleep. I can't really talk about it now.
Please refer to Melyssa's blog entitled "Blarney" for a really good way to manage our goodbyes and understand how I handle them as well. I run. I hide. I deny. I pretend I will see you tomorrow. When you do see me before I go, don't be offended if I seem unemotional or aloof. Just email, blog or write your goodbye in a card and hand it to me on the way out the door so I can keep avoiding the obvious. I will hydrate myself til I am bloated, read it on the plane and cry my way to the Emerald Isle.
I think I need a nap...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
