We are about to cross into our last two weeks here in Germany. WHAT?! Yeah, that's kind of how we feel about it, too. It is hard to believe that this adventure is coming to a close. Onward and upward - time to make new memories in a new place. This is something we are starting to get pretty accustomed to, but it doesn't make it easier. In some ways, it almost seems that with each move it gets a tad bit harder - probably because we know how tough it is to leave the places and people that we love.
Overseas moves are especially interesting because the transition seems to last forever. Whether we like it or not, all that "stuff" we like to live with every day has to climb onto a boat and sail across the ocean (vehicles included), so you live in a limbo state for a little while. The government was sweet enough to lend us furniture, so it hasn't been too bad. Sometimes living simply is a good thing, especially when you know it's only temporary. That said, it is still a state of limbo. A state of simplicity with a mix of creative complications. Our house is relatively empty, but we are surrounded with endless lists and paperwork as we attempt to keep this transition somewhat organized (always an interesting feat).
We had our pre-inspection back when they moved all of our household goods onto a truck. The list isn't too long of things we have to do to clear housing, but there will definitely be some elbow grease cleaning involved. I tend to fall into this mode of thinking, "why clean much now when you have to scrub the floors in a few weeks?" So, I go about my days sweeping floors and wiping counters, but otherwise trying not to notice that I haven't mopped in awhile, blah blah blah.
This is where that whole "un-nesting" deal comes into play. I decided this viewpoint was ridiculous. Why live in a mess for a month just to clean it well and let the professional cleaning crew enjoy it. Yeah, I opted out of that whole opinion and decided that it would be nice for us to have a bathroom floor so clean you could eat off of it, or a refrigerator be spotless. I started cleaning like a crazy person between homework assignments, naptimes, yoga sessions, and publications. I actually feel much better. Weird how that works.
I've also decided that I'm going to stop focusing on how much I'm going to miss it here and start letting myself be excited about moving home. The sadness has been overwhelming. It's not a big secret that we love it here. The travel is one thing (because seriously, who could NOT love all this travel), but mostly we just really love living in Germany. It's a place we have learned to call home, and we feel at peace here. When we moved to Germany, I honestly couldn't think of anything that I missed about home except for my family and friends (it has definitely been tough being so far away from the people we love and care about these past 3 years). I started making a list of things I'm excited to go back to now that it's right around the corner. Simple things like having a mailbox at the end of my driveway, being able to pay for gas at the pump, having a gym membership at a place with daycare, being in a closer time zone with our friends and family... silly little things like that. I am beyond excited about our plans to visit family this summer. Literally making my heart smile every time I think about it and the people and places we haven't visited in over three years.
So, here's to un-nesting and enjoying the hell out of Germany for two more weeks. We have one more adventure this weekend when we head up to Sweden to visit with Big R's family one last time before we leave Europe. Then we get home and the moving madness goes into full gear - we ship the car, get health certificates for the pets, pack up the remaining items for our final shipment, and I finish up my finals and move one step closer to that LLM degree.
Speaking of school, it's time for me to get back to work. See you all when we get back from Sweden!
xoxoxoxo
