Yes, it’s perfectly normal to feel completely overwhelmed in the last few frantic weeks before the big move. I have just arrived in the UK and since I’m up at 4 in the morning, as my body clock thinks it’s 11am, I can take time to reflect on the craziness of the past three weeks.
Once I finished work (I’m a teacher), one large stress was lifted. No lesson planning, no marking – yippee! After saying goodbye to my wonderful colleague and students, I had time to sort the house into “take”, “store”, “donate” and “chuck out”. This is a great process for anyone to do in their lives. You get down to having only core belongings in your life – things that really matter – and the other stuff is released back into the world for others to utilise. Having less stuff is really liberating. Truly – try it!
But it is exhausting, no doubt about that. I commented to my husband, who was already in the UK, that he should not make any comments when the “take” boxes finally arrive and get unpacked. The removal company did the overseas pack and I did the rest. After 10 days of packing and chucking out, I got to the stage of not caring so much about every single item that was coming overseas, if it meant me not having to pack it. It will be interesting to see what arrives in October…
It is OK to feel an overwhelming panic about what you are doing, as in “what the heck were we thinking – I’ve changed my mind!”. This will pass as you get through everything and regain your mind once it’s all done.
You must try and start the moving process as far in advance as possible. Having two weeks to pack meant it was crazy, but not impossible for one person to do. If (or when) you wake up in the middle of the night panicking about something you’ve forgotten, either get up and do it, or write it down so you can get back to sleep. Work steadily and it will all get done. If all else fails, hire a skip bin and chuck it out:-)
Once the removalists had started, I did enter the “what the heck” phase as described above and felt like calling the whole thing off. It does pass, but I have to say that it wasn’t until I was on the Tube in London that I actually felt comfortable with our decision. In the last week before we left, I had the absolute pleasure of staying with some wonderful friends who are looking after our cats, Max and Stripey. Although I was still rushing back to the house most days to let in the painter and various types of cleaners, being away from it really helped me to step away from our old life and let go, as well as spend time with my lovely cats and help them to get settled into their new home.
Of course, nothing went completely to plan – the painter didn’t put the dryer back up on the wall (thanks go to our fabulous strong bloke from around the corner who did that for me since I couldn’t even get it one centimetre off the floor, let alone lift it over my head), the removalists missed taking a large painting from our bedroom wall, a couple of dishes that I didn’t want to chuck out got missed – but with the help of great friends and family, these minor items were sorted quickly. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’d be there for your friends if they asked.
I’ve set up Skype so my kids can talk to their friends and I can talk to mine and say hello to my cats (don’t judge me!) I try and imagine what it would have been like for people moving away from their friends and family pre-internet era. It’s so easy for us to keep in touch now. We may not be physically close, but we can still be part of each other’s lives. The bravery of immigrants of the past astounds me. It was painful enough saying au revoir to so many wonderful people who I enjoy having in my life, even though I know I’ll see what they’re up to on Facebook or talk to them via Skype. The thought of stepping onto a plane and not being able to do that would be unbearably heart breaking.
So now I am sitting in an apartment in Wimbledon at 5am with my 10 year old daughter, whose body clock is also operating in between time zones. There are no magpies or cockatoos chortling away as the dawn breaks. The adventure begins!
A farewell message from my cheeky High Performance Year 9 class that greeted me in my classroom on the last day. I love their sense of humour and it was a privilege working with such a great bunch of students. The world is safe in the hands of people like them.
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