Hi guys! It’s been a while since I updated, but there hasn’t been too much to update you on! For the last two months or so, it’s kind of just been a waiting game for us to actually start packing and getting ready to leave. But the past two weeks have been BUSY BUSY BUSY and filled with a million goodbyes (complete with me crying every time), feverishly packing and purging all of our MILLION things, and preparing for life in Norway (like booking my appointment with the police to announce my presence, scheduling driving courses and language aptitude tests for my Norwegian language courses).
I put off thinking seriously about the move for as long as possible, because whenever I started realizing what it meant to move across the world, I would freak out a little bit and stress myself out with conflicting emotions – sadness because I’ll be far from friends and family, excitement because I’m getting the chance to start over somewhere new, anxiety because I won’t know how to navigate society, optimism because there are so many great things waiting for me in Norway. It’s a lot to dwell over! It freaked me out a little bit every time someone asked me how I was feeling about the move – I’m honestly kind of overwhelmed with feelings, and talking about those feelings just worked me up and I have a hard time not crying these days!
Packing has surprisingly been a very emotional process. We’ve had to make a billion tiny decisions about what to keep and what to toss. I was kind of looking forward to shedding all of the excess stuff cluttering my life, but in spite of trashing an insane amount of STUFF, we’re still left with 10 pieces of baggage for the initial trip to Norway, 6 cardboard boxes to be shipped in a boat at some point, carryons that exceed the weight limit, and “personal items” that weigh 25 pounds. For living in a one bedroom apartment, we own about as much stuff that’ll fit in our future home!
(A pile of junk waiting to be tossed!)
(A now-empty apartment!)
The most difficult part of the move so far has been saying “goodbye for now” to people. I think I’ve bawled almost every time. I’ve always had a hard time saying goodbye to people, usually when I don’t know the next time I’ll see them (as my friends in Norway can attest!). We’re coming back to the US in October, but I know we can’t see EVERYONE on that trip. I have to keep reminding myself that FaceTime exists, you can always message people, some folks will come visit, etc. but it’s not quite the same as being able to see people anytime you want.
(I purposefully did not wear eye makeup to our last dinner with Jacob and Nathan!)
All our stuff is packed away, we’ve said all our SF goodbyes, and now we venture onwards to Paso Robles for a week and LA/Orange County for a few days. Saying goodbye to my family will be the hardest one for me, I think. But we’re already making plans to see each other later this year, which helps me cope a little better.
I’m really excited for our life in Norway (especially because it’ll be so QUIET!) and I know we’re making the right choice moving there. We’ll have so many awesome adventures, and renovating the house will be super fun! But I’m still allowing myself to feel my feelings – it’s been a long 13 years in San Francisco! I’ve met so many people, made so many good (and not so good) memories, and really grew up here! A little piece of my heart will always belong to San Francisco and the people here.
My next update will probably be from Norway, which is so exciting to think about!! Stay tuned for a recap of my upcoming first week in my new home country :)
Takk og snakkes snart!
Tabby’s Adventures! 