It has been a whirlwind getting everything ready for our eventual departure. We started thinking about this trip and move years ago but we didn’t actually start the process until January this year when we put the house up for sale. And since then, off and on, the trip and move have consumed our lives. There is much involved in an international move for six people, especially when you’ve lived somewhere for 10 years and do not have the benefit of a company transferring you. Add in the extra complication of us wanting to travel for a year before moving and the logistics intensify exponentially! But we did it! By working together, being patient with one another, and showing compassion when one of us was overwhelmed or unsure.

We sold the house, re-homed the pets (the dog just temporarily!), unregistered from Germany (making it possible to deregister the kids from school), bought a 40 foot shipping container and spent 3 full days packing it with all our worldly possessions, completely emptied the entire house (why do we have so much stuff???), packed, unpacked and repacked out carry-ons and backpacks in an attempt to get everything to fit and had to come to terms with the fact that not everything will fit, and had many heartfelt and heart-wrenching goodbyes with friends and family. It was a hard few months but also exciting. Because we also spent some of that time planning our year-long trip, figuring out the best way to continue the girls’ education while on the road and dreaming about what this next chapter in our life could look like.

And then yesterday was the final goodbye and we all felt ready to embark on this adventure. We loaded ourselves and our six carry-ons, six backpacks, five small purses and random jackets that we couldn’t cram in the bags into our friend’s van and were off the Düsseldorf airport. The drive was smooth, getting through security was only delayed by both my bags getting searched and some questions about our upcoming adventure, and finally we found ourselves in the lounge, taking a deep breath. We did it! We made it happen! It IS happening! 

And then we woke up to this view. And the deep feeling that this is the right path for our family at this moment.