The end of an era

This is it.

This is the end of our last day in England. The last day in Europe. And the last day of our 5-year stint living outside the US. We turn our ship now towards the "New World" once again. It will have changed A LOT in the 5 years we were away and we now return at the precipice of great Change. It is both immensely exciting and somewhat scary. The future is still uncertain and unpredictable, but we are looking forward to it, whatever the outcome.

---

Today has been a hectic churn of activity, making our way through our To Do list. All the little things you normally need to do when moving out of a property, plus a few extra concerns that need to be taken care of when moving out of a country. Things like:

-Mail a check to the moving company (happy to report that the cost of shipping is quite a bit cheaper than the original estimate);
-Give a set of keys to the tenancy management company;
-Get rid of some furniture and the remaining contents of our pantry and refrigerator (most of this went to my work colleagues);
-Report the final meter reading to the the gas/electric company;
-Online flight check-in;
-Deposit some money (from the sale of furniture, etc.);
-Put everything back the way it was when we moved in (furnished apartment);
-Donate things to thrift shops;
-Clean the hell out of the flat.

Laced through these menial chores are lots of "lasts". The last time going to the Post Office (well, the Royal Mail Post Office). The last time riding the A bus. The last time having a shower in our horrible shower stall.

We just got back from our last dinner at our favorite restaurant in Westbourne: The Coffee Club. Before that, we stopped at our "local" for the last time and I had a last pint of real ale (Ringwood's Old Thumper from cask is just devine!). Right now, as we're packing, we're watching a last bit of British television (I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here). And I'm writing our last blog entry in England.

---

We were talking about how we are feeling about this whole thing. I mean, it's quite a big deal! We've been out of the country for 5 years. Yeah, we're used to moving, so that's no big deal, but this time we're moving out of England and back into the US, a country that is familiar and foreign now. Despite all this, we feel mostly... well, numb. Like we're just moving down the street or something. It's weird. I've had a few little pangs here and there when realizing that I might not see certain people again. Or for example, when we were in the pub and I was looking at the pump clips (the emblems on the real ale pump handles), I had a mild, wistful thought that it's going to be a long time before I have that again. I guess it's the realization of losing the things you have been taking for granted. This whole thing is going to hit home in stages, I think.

Right now, we're REALLY ready to go home (that's one thing that is contributing to the ambivalent feelings), but there are things I/we are going to miss about England:

(Uh oh, another list)

-Terry Wogan's Eurovision commentary
-London
-British comedy
-Brendan Westwood (our martial arts instructor)
-The quality of their dairy products and produce
-PAL video standard
-Wagtails (one of the cutest birds on Earth!) and Jays (an elusive bird that looks like it's assembled from the parts of other birds)
-Real Ale
-Branston baked beans
-Roundabouts
-Fewer television commercials (or none at all!)
-Bournemouth (living near the sea)
-Colleagues
-And probably a fair few things we don't realize yet.

Well, it's time to unplug our internet connection, pack up this ol' laptop, and finish packing so we can get some shut-eye before catching our 6.00am bus to Heathrow tomorrow morning. Not that we'll be able to sleep very soundly!

In about 24 hours, we will have landed in Miami to start the next leg of our journey. When PROJECT: REPATRIATION kicks into gear. We will keep this blog going for as long as it takes us to fully settle into life in America. After that, who knows what will happen?