We've been on the road for 15 days and this is the first chance I've had to sit down and reflect on the craziness that has transpired. We successfully sold/moved everything out of our house in five days. I use the word "successfully" very loosely because I'm still making phone calls and tying up lose ends. I'm stressed to the max, at times it feels like I can't catch my breath. Everything is moving so quickly, yet so very slowly all at the same time.
Before the estate sale started we each got a large rubbermaid container to put whatever we wanted into, no questions asked, and it would be shipped to Australia once we had a physical address. It's hard to believe I managed to take the last 14 years of living in Canada and squeezed it into a box. I wondered what Marcel, my husband, and Matley, our seven year old, put into their boxes. But I made it a point not to look. I know it sounds crazy but I wanted to be surprised when we opened the boxes on the other side as to what each of us thought was so important that it had to come with us.
Are we doing the right thing?
We estimated there was around 300 people that came through our house during the estate sale. The more and more people we told our story to the more and more looks of "Are you smoking crack and out of your damn mind?" we got. To tell the truth there was really only one couple who seemed on board for the whole adventure. They had spent some time living in New York and had slowly made their way back home to Canada. The husband reminded us that life was short and that the world was a big place that needed to be explored. But is he right?
Right now it just me and Matley as Marcel is working to keep money coming in during the move and while we wait for his sponsorship papers to be approved.(Both myself and Matley are Australian citizens, although at this point I am still waiting for Matley's citizenship papers to actually arrive.) The nights are lonely but so were the nights living in Grande Prairie. Working in the oil and gas industry for most of our relationship means that Marcel has been "on location" for the majority of it. So what difference does it make if we are five miles apart or 5,000 miles apart if we never get to see each other?
It's how we knew we needed a change. Everyone comes to a fork in the road while traveling the highway of life. We can continue on the same path we've always gone because it's comfortable and safe or we can choose to take the path less traveled because it's a risk and people who don't take risks don't drink champagne.
Right now we are living with Marcel's parents on Vancouver Island. The hope is that Matley and I will be in Texas for the American Thanksgiving and will then move on to Australia by the middle of December.