This is it. Today is our last day of living in Hawaii; we most likely won’t be back for quite some time. We’ve lived here for the last 11 years and tonight we head off into the sunset and board a flight that will take us exactly half-way ’round the world to our new home in The Netherlands. All week people have been asking us if we’re excited, and the honest truth is yes, but nervous as well about making such a huge, life-changing decision… HMMM, sounds a little like weight loss surgery! That turned out well, so we’re hoping this does too!
Moving to a foreign country is a big decision. It’s taken us 6 months to downsize, organize, throw out, give away, sell or pass on to family half of our accumulated items. In one way it feels great to be so organized and streamlined and in other ways, it’s sad to see things that mean a lot to you go away. Like anyone who moves to another country, I’ve been going through everything I own and making a decision on whether or not it makes sense to ship it 9,000 miles t the other side of the world. But unlike most people, I have also had to go through every item of clothing I had and make a decision on each item. In the past year, I’ve gotten a whole new wardrobe and have given away or donated most all of my old clothes. But there are some things I just can’t seem to part with; some I’ve been able to have tailored and others I’m keeping for a while. It’s been many months of making a hundred decisions every day for items that only mean something to me, no one else.