When we first got back from Oregon it seemed like time was at a standstill, but the last few weeks have flown by and now it’s suddenly my last day of work. I have been wanting to quit my job and spend more time with the kids, but now that it’s actually here I’m feeling all kinds of things that I didn’t really expect. I really like my coworkers and have come to realize that they’re definitely a support system that I appreciate and rely on. I’m going to miss talking to them. Even if we do keep in touch, it’s not going to be the same. So I’m definitely sad, but also excited. Now our move is just about two weeks away.
We have been getting a lot done, though there is still so much that needs to get done. It will be really helpful not working the next two weeks so that I can get more done. Our pallets came, so we have been busy building those. The pallets were 1″ shorter in length and width than we expected, which has actually turned out to be a big deal. We had boxes that would have fit perfectly, but now they don’t, so we’ve been trying to order more boxes to make everything as uniform as possible. If this turns out to be our biggest problem that would be great!
We hired a pet shipping company, Dog Gone Taxi, and they booked Bailey’s flight. We booked our flight, which will leave 4 hours after Bailey’s flight. There was a small hiccup because the website wouldn’t let us buy a seat for Leo, so he’s technically going to be a lap baby. I tried to get him a seat, but it just got too frustrating and I had to give up. I’m still going to bring his carseat and ask them if there is an available seat. I’ve been watching our flight and it’s definitely not fully booked. If there isn’t a seat then I will gate check his carseat an just deal with it. By the time we walk onto the plane we will be so relieved and excited that nothing else will really matter.
Our landlord did end up selling the house. Luckily it sold very quickly, because we were getting pretty frustrated. For a few days it took over our lives between the showings, and all the text messages and phone calls. The new buyers were hoping to move in sooner, so our landlord agreed to prorate our rent if we could move out before our lease ends. That’s exactly what we were hoping for, so it’s a win for everyone! It will be especially helpful because hotels in DC are expensive.
Everything is booked. Now all we do is pack and hope that it all works out. I’m still pretty stressed out about Bailey and the USDA certificate, but I think it will be just fine and I am probably stressed out for nothing. Even so, there is really nothing that I can do about it. It will work out somehow. And in just over two weeks we will be moving to Portugal! I know that, but I think it hasn’t really set in because there is still so much that we need to do between now and then.
I got my driving certificate to exchange my driver’s license in Portugal. We sent Kyle’s the day after mine was sent, but no sign of his yet. Hopefully it will show up. We got a mail forwarding address with physicalmailbox.com. They will receive our US mail and scan and upload it for us. They can also ship it to us in Portugal when we request it. I got a virtual phone number with TextNow. It costs $5 per year and it gives me a US phone number so I can still send and receive texts from US numbers. That will make it easier to stay in touch with family and receive text verification codes. I have been researching all of this for years, and it feels so surreal to be implementing it all now.
Growing Up Expat 