Calm before the storm

The moving company just called and said due to some glitch, the packers are arriving a little later, like 10:30-11. Which means I have a little time to myself. I've successfully farmed the kids off to other people (thanks, Jenny and Amy!) and even Tom went off to work since the packers are on the late side. My parents will arrive around the same time as the packers which is nice that I don't have to do it all alone. And later they'll take the kids from school and Jenny until I'm done here for the day. Since I'm now known (at least to growth and couples groups) as "the packer", I guess today is "my" day. When my organizational, decision making and managerial skills are put to the test.

So here I eat my leftover bundt cake and cold pork chops. Lunch is peanut butter and banana sandwich (because I accidentally gave away the jelly). Waiting, just waiting...

So much for sleeping...

It's 5AM and I just took a shower...so I could take down the shower curtain. Tom went to sleep just 30 minutes ago. We didn't expect to pull an all-nighter and yet if we didn't, that would be a move almost *too* smooth, know what I mean? Chia-Chi was right: packing all the big stuff is easy, it's all the little things leftover that you have to figure out what to do with. We packed most everything today and while it sounds last minute, I'm not sure how much earlier I could have done most of it since just about everything was "essential". Now that we are headed for the hotel tomorrow and can start packing the van, it's easier to get our things organized and moved on out.

I've concluded that I'm afraid of the packers tomorrow. I imagine them being like Tasmanian devils, whirring through our belongings, stuffing things willy nilly into boxes. If my stuff isn't semi-organized, then they will put the kids outdoor toys in the same box as my beloved shower curtain.

But I think I'm ready -- our suitcases packed for our trip + 1 month in corporate housing. Stuff for Tobey's party and school project in a corner saying "Don't touch me!" and everything else ready for the packers.

Bring it on.

Almost here, last night sleeping at home

No, I don't really have time to blog. But it's such a mix of emotions at T minus 4 days and counting that blogging later really wouldn't really capture the moment.

We're halfway between in and out of here. The moving vans come tomorrow, first to pack and then the next day to load. I had a good day of packing today and have concluded that although stressed for the last week, it was a bit hard to pack our essentials any earlier than the very last moment. It's still a little hard to see how we're going to make it to Saturday, to see over that humongous pile of stuff in our garage. But somehow it will get done.

Saying goodbye has been emotional. Ironically, I haven't cried at any of our many going away get togethers (I almost did when Thomas and Kevin both said a little something at the growth/couples group party). And thank God no one asked for "Speech! Speech! Speech!" Our going aways have been mostly festive and happy, but with a looming hint of sadness that this was the last time we'd see our friends here as locals. It was strange to be completely comfortable at each party, looking around and knowing everyone, then realizing that the party was for us, that we were actually the guests of honor, that people were potlucking or chipping in, spending their evening and their efforts, just for us. Kind of like at our wedding, sitting there looking around and seeing all of our friends together to wish us well. And each time Tom and I drive away from said going away party, we say to each other, "Wow, that was sad [to have to leave them]." We sugar coated all of our goodbyes with "Visit us in Boston!" or "We'll be back to visit!". But I'm sure both they and we know that it will be a little different when we next meet, one of us being a visitor.

Saturday after saying bye to growth group and couples group, I realized that with this move and these goodbyes, there's a lot of love that I have for our friends here. I had a fleeting thought of "Are we crazy to leave all this?" But I have to remember that we do believe there's a lot of good things in store for us in Boston, including reconnecting with old friends and making new ones -- it will take a while but I do believe it will come. God has made this move too smooth for me to doubt that he would not take care of us in Boston. It's just that we don't know what's in store for us just yet and so it's easy to think we're losing a lot without gaining anything for now. And I'm definitely in denial, trying not to really say goodbye to some of our closest friends, thinking we'll still see them before we leave. It's really that it will be difficult to say goodbye.

Tonight is our last night sleeping in the house. We'll be back to babysit the movers and to let the kids see the truck and see some of our things go in it. (And since Tobey is so into the process of how things work, I feel like we have to show him what's going on at home while my parents keep them occupied outside of the house.) We'll be back to say goodbye to the rooms and our beloved play structure. But it is the beginning of the end. Hard to believe.

How are we doing?

We've been saying goodbye to lots of friends and family around here. The most common questions are, "So, are you ready? Are you all packed?" To which the answer is quite well summed up in frantic email to my buddy Melissa (getting married in June!).

Aww, thanks for kind words. I'm still sorry that I can't throw you a shower or anything. And at this point, I'm not sure if we can do a pamper day before I leave...

...so you asked how we were doing. I'm starting to stress out about the move. We got complacent after the big sale of our house, thinking that we're mostly packed from the house being staged. But it just dawned on me last week that we only have two weeks left before the moving vans come and we do have some packing still left. You know how people with house cleaners say that they always have to clean before the cleaners come? Well, we have to pack before the packers come. We need to pack for our big road trip and the first month while in furnished corporate housing (won't have access to our boxes). So we have some significant work ahead of us.

And as if it wasn't enough, we're also saying bye to friends which has been great but man, this weekend was just party party party. Literally. Next weekend shouldn't be so "bad" as we have just one party per day. But the kids must be exhausted and we're getting no packing done while partying. We party because we'd regret leaving without saying goodbye to friends. But if we keep saying goodbye instead of packing, we'll never leave! And not only do we need to pack, we need to plan our trip! Luckily we have a place to stay at our first stop, Legoland: my cousin's in San Diego. But otherwise, we're "winging it" and winging it for two semi Type A personalities like us means that we want to know which towns we want to visit and stay in but we just don't know when so we can't make reservations until a day or two ahead of time. So we're not being all *that* spontaneous.

Exhale...breathe...this will all happen somehow and I'll end up in Boston 2 months from now and can't believe we actually made it. I can't believe something we've been thinking about for years (more seriously for a year, publicly declared for half a year) now is about to become reality. It's surreal to think that in a little over a month, we will be in a new metro area. We've been in CA for 15 years, for just about all of our post-college adult life. Do we know anything different from CA? We're about to find out!

Tyranny

Just realized yesterday that the moving vans are coming in two weeks. Something we've been thinking about for over a year, planning for months, working on for weeks and weeks, is almost here. I feel a mix of shock, sadness, stress all in one. It will be a crazy 2 weeks, juggling the important "task" of saying goodbye to friends with the urgent task of getting packed.

At this point the only packing left is for our trip but crazy me is also planning a proper farewell for Tobey with a parent project and party as well as scheduling various farewells with friends. Wished we could always just focus on the "important" but in this case, if we don't do the "urgent", then we won't have a need to say goodbye because we will miss the moving van!

We *heart* Sophie

Well, it's not like my audience here is that huge, but we have to give props to our realtor, Sophie Tsang. Unlike our previous purchase and sale experiences with other realtors, working with Sophie felt good. We picked her because of her results in our neighborhood (and that she lives here) and we haven't regretted it one bit. I felt confident the whole time working with her. Everything she said was like magic, it came true, from what to remodel to what to leave alone, from what to list for and how to show the house. The people she works with (contractors, stagers) all worked out well. She deserves her 3% and was worth every penny.

We only wished she could hand hold us through our buying in MA, but of course that doesn't make sense. And when she said that Intero had connections that would get in contact with us about realtors in Boston, we assumed they would just give us a name and say good luck. But apparently, they asked us questions about what we're looking for, will prescreen the realtors and that Sophie will be pre-screening as well. I feel good that we will have her perspective on possible realtors, a little more confidence than an anonymous referral. And isn't that what you would want with someone that you work with -- confidence in their ability and their watching out for your well-being.

We are in contract!

We're a couple of weeks late but are nevertheless happy to report that we are in contract! Our house sold in 1 week with 18 offers. Every time I say that I grin with disbelief. 8 or 10 offers sometimes happens in Sunnyvale (and often with our realtor at the helm!) but 18 offers? That's all God. That's like God making sure that we didn't chalk up the # of offers to market conditions. That's God wowing us to remind us that He has His Hand in our moving. And more than ever, Anna's prediction about God having something in store for us in Boston is more real. Does He want us out of California so much that he had to make it that quick and that obvious? :-)

Now we just need to take our gratitude and our faith and put it towards buying in Boston. :-)

(For friends curious about the price, ask us after closing 4/15 or look us up in the paper in the weeks after!)