18 it is!

Just a quick post to let you know that 18 seems to be a good number for us.  Here it is, March 18.  Here’s the deal – Maddie will turn 18 on May 18, we will have a combination graduation/farewell party on June 18 (yes, you are ALL invited!), and we will be departing the U.S. for our new Aruban adventure on July 18.

Now that we have a plan, I feel so much better!  There are, of course, some things that still need to happen in order for this plan to finalize, but for now, we are just going with the “let’s do it” attitude and not worrying about some of the “details”.  Some major hurdles still need to be jumped – like finding a place to live, shipping stuff and a car – but we finally feel like we’ve totally got this.

After planning for the last 4+ years, it feels so good to have only FOUR MONTHS left!!!!

Time for an Update!

Well, I definitely need to get better at this blogging thing!  Sorry for the delay in posting, but I guess I have been concentrating too much on the purging of our “stuff” and not keeping you updated on what’s happening.  So here we are, March has arrived.  So what is happening in the world of moving to a new country?  Unfortunately, not enough!

We continue to sell things and our house is noticeably less “furnished” for sure.  About three weeks ago, we had another huge garage sale and were able to unload quite a big chunk of “things”.   A few days later, I took the gigantic step of listing my Tahoe for sale and spent a week juggling responses to the ad, meeting people for test drives, telling people to go away when they made ridiculous offers, but finally, the right person came along.  It seriously was more of a placement to a new home than just getting rid of a vehicle.  One family who made an offer dared to tell me how their kids would “destroy the vehicle within a year”.  Really?  Needless to say, they are not the new owners!  The couple who purchased the Tahoe have a lot of similarities to our family – kids the same ages, they love cars, and they have a boat.  Although it was a very hard thing to do, I am very satisfied with the family who has my beloved vehicle now.  (Yes, I did cry when they drove away….)

The other update we have is about our residency permitting process.  Well, not really an update when NOTHING is happening!  We followed up with the consulting company who is handling all of our paperwork and they let us know that DIMAS (that’s Aruba’s Immigration Department) told them they are “extremely behind” with the resident permits, but will definitely let us know when we have an answer.  We were hoping to jet off to Aruba sooner than later to complete the health testing portion of the process, but we are currently still waiting….and waiting…..and waiting…..and waiting.  It is hard for me, the planner, to  have such a huge unknown in my life, but I know it is all going to be okay and we will be looking at that blue water soon, soon, soon!

In the meantime, I will continue to sell things, throw things away, pack things, and just be ready when that call comes!

This blog post is dedicated to my 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe – may the new owners drive it many more  miles and make their own special memories – I miss you already:(