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| Littleboy 2 gets ready for the move |
With less than two weeks to go on Long Island, I feel as if we're in a kind of limbo. We've had the goodbye party, sent out the thank you cards, but haven't yet physically left.
School ended over a week ago and last night we hosted a party for 60 people at our house - the cast of characters included our former landlady (the one whose house was crushed by a tree), Littleboy 1's amazing piano teacher, neighbours and friends we've made over the last four years. But we're not done yet - we've a Fourth of July party to attend this week, and have meals with various friends who have suddenly realized we're leaving.
Of course everyone we meet asks us have we packed yet? I remember this when we left England, too. Packing for an international move is not exactly like packing a suitcase. We have a moving company coming to deal with the furniture etc., but most of the donkey-work is sorting and deciding, rather than packing. Sorting out which clothes to take with us in our cases, to last us till September when our stuff (hopefully) arrives. Deciding out which toys to bin, and which the boys actually still play with. Which of their many artworks to ship home, and which are just superfluous to requirements. Which important documents we really, really don't want to lose in a shipment, and whether or not it will actually be more dangerous to carry them around the US in our bags for two weeks.
Then there's the planning. Planning when to take the borrowed table back to our friend's house - when will be the last meal we need it for? When do we say au revoir to the TV, sell the car? How much food do we still need in the fridge? (Turns out we have tonnes, left over from the party, so at least that is solved). What to do with the lights and electrical items we can't use in the UK.
But whatever we decide, the move is going to happen. In 12 days we leave for a trip to Colorado and Northern California, punctuated by a cross-country train trip. At the other end, England awaits. The prospect seems slightly unreal.
The other question I am constantly asked is how the boys feel about the move. I don't know exactly - children seem to take each day as it comes. They were excited about the leaving party because they were going to see all their friends (and they had a fantastic time). But whether or not it actually registered that it was because we're leaving leaving, I'm not sure.
One thing is for sure, though. I'm going to have to re-name this blog, as I'll neither be living in Nappy Valley or New York. Any suggestions welcome!
13 comments:
Oh my god. it is so real now. I can only imagine how you feel. Such a strange mix of sad and excited all muddled up together. Enjoy your last two weeks there and best of luck for the move.
PS - re name, how about: there and back again
PPS - my words to prove that i'm not a robot are sharp hoochi. Really??
It is exciting and probably bittersweet as well as all the best goodbyes are. But what an experience for all of you as a family. Maybe in the future you will have a family 4th July party or Thanksgiving as a memory of your trans-atlantic adventure?
Here's to meeting up for a G&T in the autumn!
Wow this takes me back to our move two years ago. We craiglisted a lot of stuff and asked the buyers to come the day before our movers/packers came. We had to do the same - pack for the summer and hope we made the right choices! Electronics we either gave to goodwill or a friends who could use another fan/heater/lamp. Also a friend worked for the uni in Sydney and he knew a number of international students who were grateful for some free stuff!
As for your papers. Make 2 copies of everything. Send one copy in the shipment. Keep one copy with you. The originals send by registered mail to a parent/friend in the UK where it can stay safe until you get there. I don't know if that's what we did but someone suggested it. We didn't travel in between though so it was a little easier.
Looking forward to hearing all about your railway trip. Sounds like a blast!
As for interesting new names - you might not want to ask me, I just added a 'Was' to my screen name :) How about "NappyValley - home again"? Even though you are not living in Nappy Valley you're still NappyValleyGirl - aren't you?
Def think you should call yourself "sharp hoochi" as Melissa noted! Hilarious,
Anyway, have a safe and enjoyable US trip, safe trip back and a not-too-stressful settling back in. 'Twill be very interesting to read your blogs at the other end.
Keep your name! I love it and like you, it is now well-travelled. Good luck with all the par-tays!
Reading about your return was like a mirror of our lives almost 2 years ago when we left Hoboken, NJ after 10 years for north west England with our 2 little boys, then 4 and 7 months. It has taken us a long time to settle here and ultimately we may end up returning. Interested to hear how you all settle in in the UK. Good luck.
It seems like no time at all that you were asking for suggestions for names for your blog when you moved to Long Island!
I like "Nappy Valley Home Again" from WLDU. Though Long Island became "Home" too, didn't it?
How about:
Nappy Valley, There and Back?
Nappy Valley, The Return.
Not Quite Nappy Valley.
Nappy Valley... in South London.
I can't quite get away from the Nappy Valley theme, though I can see it's not entirely relevant to you any more. I do think of you as NVG, though.
There's always Sharp Hoochi...
Nappy Valley: The Sequel
Nappy Valley & Beyond
Nappy Valley repatriated
Nappy Valley. Almost
Nappy Valley Girl Returns
Nappy Valley Revisited
Again, Nappy Valley is such a strong theme now, I can't think of anything new! Safe travels xxx
I'm with Iota: you can call your blog anything you want, but I will have a hard time thinking of you as anything but NVG! I promise to do my best to adjust, though, and I agree with Iota and Circles that you *must* keep the theme somehow!
Wishing you a wonderful and (if possible) restful journey West and then back to the UK; I bet you'll find that the boys make the transition faster than their parents.; ) Looking forward to the next installment! x
ps: It's probably too late to be a useful tip - and maybe not ideal for your particular travel situation, but we keep scanned copies of our passports and all other important documents on a hard drive at home and just e-mail them to ourselves (especially copies of passports/visas) whenever we travel. In case of loss, you can easily access e-mail and a printer from just about any hotel and print out copies if necessary. Having hard copies is also a good idea, but when we are taking short local trips to other countries, space is often at a premium and I'm as worried about losing the copies as I am about losing the originals. Knowing I can access them quickly and easily if necessary gives me some peace of mind but doesn't add clutter to my carry ons.
Good luck with your trip - you're probably half way back by now!
I like Nappy Valley and Beyond from Circles. My first thought was Out of Nappy Valley, so I think keeping Nappy Valley in some way is a good idea.
Look forward to hearing about how England looks after all this time, once you've landed and got settled again.
Welcome home! Potty Trained and Post-Atlantic?!
NVG - Nappy Valley Grown up?
Safe travels, go well and welcome back, and welcome to the world of having little bits of your heart all over the world :o)
Potty Trained and Post Atlantic! Love it! Though it's too much like "Potty Diaries" probably. But "Post Atlantic" is good.
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