All packed up

Phew! It’s been a busy few weeks. In the last week I have:

• Packed up a three bedroom house
• Moved all my furniture and belongings into a 3 by 3 storage unit
• Cleaned my house from top to bottom;  and
• Moved to my parents house.

Of course I didn’t do it all on my own, my lovely parents helped me a lot with the move.  I certainly couldn’t have done it without them.

It amazes me how all those belongings I treasure so much can fit into something small.  I certainly wasn’t one to do things by half.  I didn’t just have a couch, I had a glorious red leather number that was 2.5m long.  Somehow we managed and now everything I own is sitting  in a storage unit wondering if I will ever be coming back for them.

When I closed the door on my house for the final time, I actually surprised myself by not feeling any sadness.  It wasn’t just any house, it was one I had designed and built from scratch.  Every handle and tap in that place had been handpicked by myself.  Yet closing the door, all I felt was relief.  Relief that I no longer had to pack or clean anything and could just spend the next week focussing on getting ready to move overseas… and that is what I have done.

There is still so much left do, all the little things that you don’t think about. Changing addresses with the Electoral Commission, changing my health insurance, reminding the council to send my bills elsewhere.  The list is long and tedious.  In between ticking of tasks, I have been trying to catch up with as many of my dear friends and family as possible.

It doesn’t feel like a goodbye yet.  As one friend told me yesterday as I hugged her goodbye, she won’t notice I am gone until she goes to pick up the phone and realises I am not there.  Another already had that realisation, when she went to text me to see if I was awake for our usual Saturday morning coffee and brunch date, and realised I no longer lived a block away.  Even though I am still in the same city, I had already moved into another world.

I have 2 more days until I leave Australia.  I am looking forward to ticking off everything on my to-do lists, so I can then just focus on planning the next adventure.