SIX WEEKS

The next six weeks were a blur. We had six weeks to figure out what we wanted our first year of marriage to look like and we were not taking it lightly. We had all the hard decisions to make: Do I stay or do I go? Do we keep the house or do we rent the house? How do you rent a house? Are we really not going to try to bring Winston anymore? Who's going to keep Winston? Do I tell my job early and try to stay with the company or do I quit with just two weeks notice? These were just a few of the questions we needed to answer… When I said blur, I meant BLURRRR.

Obviously, I decided to move with my husband to London. (Was there ever really a choice? I mean, come on!) We decided to buckle down and find/sign with a property management company to take over the house and fill with a tenant. We decided to leave our beloved dog in the States because the cost to fly him to London for just one year was just too high…(I will go into this topic deeper, but I can’t get into it now or I will never finish this post.)

At many times, I felt completely overwhelmed—as if there was absolutely no way that we could get done everything that we needed to get done—but somehow it all came together.

James and I basically worked all the way up until the end. My last day was Thursday, September 19^th and James’ was Friday, September 20^th. We were luckily enough to spend our last Saturday in Charlotte with all of our closest friends and family celebrating our “Going Away/Housewarming Party” (ironic, we know). Our parents stayed the weekend to help us clean and get the house in order. Let me just say, seriously, a HUGE thank you to our parents and friends that helped us with yard work, cleaning and packing. Thank you, a million!

Before we knew it, it was the Monday before our travel day (Wednesday) and we were packing up the Uhaul and saying our goodbyes. It was really, really hard to say goodbye to my dog. Even though I know he would be cared for, my life will truly not be the same without him.  He is the sweetest animal and he brings so much joy into my life, it just breaks my heart to even think back to that day. I am saved by the fact that no matter what, we will all be together in one years’ time and of course, he will love London!

As I stood with my mom waving goodbye to James’ parents and Winston and watching James as he drove away with our life packed into one 20ft truck, I realized, “this is happening.” There were obviously lots of tears and when my mom left to give me some privacy and run some errands, there was definitely a warm bath and a half bottle of red that helped me pull it together.

My mom and I basically had two whole, heavy stressful days of cleaning. I tell ya, that woman, can clean! I couldn't have done it without her, she was a huge help.

Tuesday night arrived and my dad drove back to see us off. Cheap Mexican and an early night’s sleep was all that any of us had enough energy for.

TRAVEL DAY

Ultimately, everything got done. The house looked amazing and we left it in better shape than we bought it; it felt good to hand the keys over. We spent the remainder of the day finishing up last minute errands, showering and repacking our suitcases.

At this point, all the stress and anxiety of the past six weeks had faded away and we were both in good spirits. WE ARE MOVING TO LONDON!!! I know that I was excited and eager to get to the airport, get that customary glass of wine and wash my hands of the responsibilities of the past. 

Getting on the airplane was surreal. I can't believe this is happening, I wonder where this adventure will take us? It is such a liberating feeling; getting on an airplane and leaving to start a new life. I'm glad that I have such an amazing partner to share this experience with. There are so many incredible people and memories back in Charlotte that will always keep us coming back, but I can’t help thinking that the best has yet to come!

Getting ready for take-off!