adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

Countdown: 4 Weeks

Holy shit, we're moving in a month. For the last few weeks we've been stuck in this weird place where we know we're moving, but it's just a little too early to start packing things up.  However, we're starting to realize that we need to Start Doing Things.  And oh my, is there a lot to do.  We've started selling off our furniture to friends and Michael's co-workers and we have boxes upon boxes of things to give away.  We're trying to only ship back what we brought, plus a few souvenirs and Ramona's belongings.  I think we did a really great job of living minimally during our time here, but somehow in the almost 2 years we've been here, we've still accumulated various stuff that we need to get rid of:  vases, dishes, throw pillows, electrical gadgets that won't work back in the U.S.  If you know anyone who needs a European hand mixer, please send them my way. We're closing bank accounts, preparing paperwork, and showing our apartment to prospective new tenants.  In a rather annoying twist, our rental agency decided it would be ok to just give my phone number out to tenants who want to come see the apartment so that I could set up a time for a showing.  I found this out when someone called me and started asking me in French when they could come over.  One of Michael's co-workers called the agency and told them that this was unacceptable and that they were not to give my phone number out to anyone else.  They would have to call him to help arrange the appointments.  Their response?  But that's so much work.  They went on to suggest that maybe we could just leave our key with them and they could just come by whenever someone wanted to see the apartment and show it themselves. Get me out of here.

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In the meantime, we're also trying to make the most of our last few weeks here.  We were really hoping to take one last trip to Lyon, but I see that possibility moving further and further from our reach.  We were planning to go this weekend, but Michael has been getting over a cold, Figgy's having some trouble with his front leg again, and  - did I mention we haven't started packing yet?  We've decided to start getting together for lunch during the week so that we can try out some new restaurants that have been on our list and go to our favorite spots "one last time."  Midday is when Ramona takes her longest nap, so we've been able to get together for some sort-of -alone-time outside of the house while enjoying a nice meal.  That will have to do for now.

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One month from today we will land in Raleigh with no home, no car, no stroller, no crib, no car seat.  Michael's company is amazing and has provided us with a fabulous relocation that will really help us out in the first month, but these are all still things we need to figure out very quickly (especially the crib and stroller part, hmm.)  Expect a lot of posts in the near future that range from "what stroller should we buy?" to "how the hell do you keep a 5 month old and a dog entertained on a 2-day, 3 part international journey?"  Oh, it's going to be fun. À bientôt!

10 Responses to “Countdown: 4 Weeks”

  1. Mom says:

    Wow! I can’t believe in only 4 short weeks you’ll be stateside again!! Yippee!! The same time zone even!

    You guys will do fine. You’re the amazing Micholics!!

    Love you. xoxo

  2. Jennifer says:

    Welcome almost HOME! Did you receive our letter yet? Talk to you later.

  3. Elizabeth says:

    A soon to be welcome to NC! It’s a lovely lovely place. I’d offer to give you a ride from the airport or show you around – but I think that’d be creepy. It’s hard to not love “the triangle.” and it’s a great place to raise children. Bienvenue!

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