If you ever need a reminder of your age and the state of your body, try flying with a 6 hr time change (backwards), a rush to pack storage unit contents for shipping, another flight half way around the world with an 8 hr time difference...forward...packing up ANOTHER storage unit full of your past life, and then flying back (a different way) to your destination with a 12 hr time difference...cant remember if it is forwards or backwards, at this hour of the morning!
Are we nuts? Yes!
Why put ourselves through this?
It would be so easy to not do it, but we have ours and our kids precious memories packed in boxes in NZ, and our more recent memories and nice things packed in Florida. We have donated so much, sold so much, and retained only those things we want to move forward with, in our new lives in France.
Yes, they are very special things, and while they are just things, (we know from experience that you can do without things), it is REALLY nice to have familiar things around you.
We have been 'told' by every other person we come across, that we should have just sold everything and moved forward without all those 'things'. That's all they are!
Well, yes, we did that already, but guess what? We WANT those things around us.
They are the special gifts our kids and parents gave us. They are the special gifts we gave each other. They are the memories of a lifetime and a work history that we loved and enjoyed, and want to enjoy further.
We cant wait to have our own tools at hand. Waz in the workshop, and me in the sewing and craft room. I want the boxes of photos (not digital) of my children's growing up years so that I can put them into a book for them each, and they will be able to share their own memories with their new families and children.
Before we moved aboard the boat and after selling our NZ home, we stored all that was left of our lives that we wanted to keep, in a storage unit in NZ. It has been there for five years now. We have, over those years, opened the storage unit door, sighed heavily and shut the door again, not knowing when the time would come for us to give it all daylight again.
We are excited to be able to do that now:)
With medical issues making boat living challenging, we moved, 18 months ago, into an apartment here in Jacksonville, Florida. We had nothing in the way of furniture, so we acquired some...new. We lived fairly sparse lives there before being 'hurricane'd' out by Irma, when she swept through the area.
Again, our belongings were put into storage (here) and we set off to do a couple of house sits in France.
Not wanting to live aboard the boat full time anymore, we felt a bit 'homeless' to be honest. With an uncertain future, the boat for sale and no other place to call home, we set out to find one.
Having looked at homes for sale in Jacksonville and further away, we not only didnt find something we wanted to live in, we felt more unsettled. Apart from the water surrounding this city, which we love, there isnt much we like about being in a big city, and Florida isnt a pretty state, in our opinion. We like green. We are Kiwis, and it is in our souls, this green.
We really didnt know until we arrived there (France)...in the coldest part of Winter...that we would want to stay. Our internal dialogues were that if we still loved France in the middle of winter, then we would look for a house. Sounds simple, right? lol.
It took exactly one week for us to look at each other and say "I like it, let's do this!"
So we did! You will have read the process and the ups and down, but now that we are on the other side and far removed from our new home, we cant wait to return.
There isnt much we really like about returning to Florida, or the States, for that matter. We have become much more critical of everything on our return. I'm sure that's a sign!:)
We live with the ups and downs wherever we live, all of us. There is good and bad in all countries, and we dont have rose colored glasses on. We know what we like, we know how we want to live and where and will make the most of it, just as we have previously. When we feel we cant do that anymore and our physical needs change, then we will make changes for that reason, but I dont want to get ahead of myself there either. We have NO idea what the future will bring, other than we are happy with our choice of home and country and look forward to our future there, whatever time that may be.
We have just finished our bagel with strawberries and raspberries for breakfast. My body doesn't like the change in diet or the time changes. I might invest in some prune juice today!:)
Time to get back to work! We are probably half way through repacking and securing our load.
Waz and our friend Dan are making the trip to the Marine Consignment store in St Augustine on Thursday, to offload some of our marine supplies now superfluous to our requirements. Dan and Kris have also relieved us of our many pantry supplies which they are donating to their Church food drive today. Our friends have welcomed us back, and we hope to see more of them before we depart these shores...hopefully with a boat sale behind us! Keep your fingers crossed, folks!
A bientot!
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