We cannot officially say farewell, but since the computer gets packed up on Tuesday, it is farewell in a general sense.
While the kids were in summer camp last week, I spent many hours sorting, tossing and packing for our mini-move. We're not actually due to leave for post until August 29th, but because we chose to do our home leave at the end of training, our apartment gets packed up this week and we live out of suitcases for the next 5 weeks, either at my parents' house or on the road. It's almost like a weaning process since we're all rather sad about leaving home this time. Perhaps we became a bit too settled.
So what's in store for us. Here's a breakdownmore to keep myself straight than for your information.
Monday: Ian has consultations downtown all morning. After lunch we'll all go to FSI for our shots (yellow fever, etc, someone remind me to give everyone tylenol before we go), and Ian has a couple other stops there. Monday night we finish packing our suitcases for our road trip and the week at the beach.
Tuesday: Packers come to pack our air shipment. We only have 300 kilos to pack so it shouldn't take more than a few hours. That is, if they bring minor items like... boxes. Another family who moved out of here last month had horror stories of their packout, including the fact that packers arrived sans boxes. *sigh* We'll pack up our car with the suitcases we have packed, to bring them to my parents' house. At 3 p.m., Rebecca gets her spacer, at 3:30 Katherine has her fillings. We'll drop the kids off at grandma's house then come back to the apartment to pull together everything else that's being packed for our sea freight. Since this is a furnished apartment, I want to put -our- stuff together so we don't inadvertantly take an apartment phone, clock radio or tupperware.
Wednesday: The sea freight packers show up. This will most likely take all day. I don't know why, but it will. Once they're done, we drive to my parents' with everything left over. There's always stuff leftover. Items the packers "can't pack", things that are missed in a drawer here or a shelf there, or something that just repeatedly gets stepped over and doesn't make it into a box. Don't ask me why. We will most likely empty our fridge into a neighbor's fridge but there's already not much left to nibble on here. We also need to drop our modem at the front desk.
Thursday: We'll check out of the apartment, pick up our mail. Oh no, I forgot to fill out a change of address form for our mail. Must do that. I guess this day is also for any last minute stuff that comes up. But hopefully all I'll be doing is making sure our bags for Maine are packed.
Friday: Fly to Presque Isle, drive to Madawaska, stay in Edmunston.
Saturday: No clue, but my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins will be there.
Sunday: Fly back to Virginia.
Monday: Do laundry, repack, pack car.
2 August - 13 August: Stop in Pittsburgh and Toledo on the way to Milwaukee, WI. Drive back stopping in Chicago, Indianapolis, Lexington KY, Charleston WV, Charlottesville VA and on to Sandbridge VA.
The following week we're in Sandbridge in a beach house.
The last week we're back in Annandale doing all the last minute stuff you can't do before the last minute.
We fly out late night on the 29th of August.
OK. Basically all this is to say this: On Tuesday we're being disconnected. I plan to post updates of our trip along the way if I can. If not, I'll just keep notes and tell you all about it after the fact. We'll answer e-mail when we can as well. But this is our farewell. We've thoroughly enjoyed being in Arlington and we're going to miss Home very much.
Keep in touch.
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