Thought the Day Would Never Come

that we would be going home for a vacation to the states and in the midst of packing for vacation also packing the suitcases to the brim with items to bring home to the US for good.

I moved over to the UK officially on January 5, 2006 but had started coming over in November 2005 after we had already signed our lease. My first few trips over to the UK, when we knew we were moving here, I had vacuum packed loads of clothes, comforters, towels, sheets, toiletries, shoes, etc. to settle in to some sort of life until the movers came with the rest. It felt like my life was in a suitcase (well a few for that matter). I remember the first day walking in to the flat on my own and it had this "cold" feeling, no not just the temperature, but it just wasn't "home". I remember sitting on the couch trying to find a good show to watch, staying up till 1-2am every night so that I could talk to Scott, my family and friends. I remember crying the first few nights saying that I hated it here and that I can't believe I was actually doing this and doing this on my own. I remember when I would go home to plan our wedding that I didn't want to fly back to the UK knowing I was getting on the plane by myself. Lastly, I remember the first time that Scott and I actually were on a flight together and he was officially moving here on his British Passport. That was the easiest day to fly since I knew life was going to be much better.

So now after living in the UK for 2 years 7 months and 6 days, it is time to start doing the reverse. It is an odd feeling since the first year of living in the UK I was on my own due to Scott not being able to move over since we weren't married and we hadn't lived with each other for 3 years to support that we were a couple. Now when I walk around our flat with our stuff in it and our pictures hanging on the wall our 4 legged daughter Bailey following us around it is starting to feel like "home" all in the nick of time to move back to the US. We have made some great friends here that we will keep in touch with, renewed a friendship from a former high school classmate and her fiance and "met" lots of lovely International Nesties that I will be sorry to have to say "bye" to.

Don't get me wrong, with under 150 days to go until we move home for good, it is what we have been waiting for. This experience has been a fantastic Chapter in our lives and undoubtebly opened our eyes up to some amazing experiences. This is our last trip home prior to moving home for good in December. Therefore it is time to jam pack the suitcases with everything that we need to have the day we move home or for Christmas in case the movers can't get our stuff to us prior to the Holidays. It is amazing to see what we have accumulated over in the UK, and have started our listing of items to sell before we move home, items to give to goodwill (charity), or items just to chuck in the trash. With that, I wish the Virgin check-in agent to be generous when it comes to weight limits of our luggage for this trip home!