It's May. The background on this blog isn't up to date, stupid snow. Then again, neither are the posts. We're leaving Sweden in less than four weeks. We're leaving in May. Two days ago I woke up and stretched out, saw the sun coming through the windows, and in a happy moment I thought, "happy May Day." Then my brain stopped for a second and the next thought was, "oh shit." That's when my mind started to race. Yes, the arrival of May was scary.
In that four weeks, we're going to do the following things (in this order):
1) Run a lot.
2) Cram everything we haven't done in the Stockholm area into just four weeks.
3) Schedule dinners with all of our friends in Sweden that we've been meaning to meet up with.
4) Take a week-long trip to Barcelona.
5) Continue with the daily running, dinners, museum visits, etc.
6) Plan a "round-the-world" trip through Thailand, Australia, Hawaii and ending in California.
7) Wrap up a million loose-ends at work.
8) Pack up to move.
9) Pack up for the round-the-world trip.
10) Send away most of our stuff on a boat heading west.
11) Clean our apartment.
12) Run a marathon.
13) Hop a next-day flight heading east.
So, that's our May.
June and early July look like this:
1) "Relax" for three weeks while fighting constant jet-lag and trying to most of our trip even though we won't actually put any work into planning anything more than flights and hotel stays. Oh yeah, it'll be the start of monsoon season in Thailand. Let's hope we beat the rains.
2) End our trip in California just in time for my sister's wedding in San Diego.
3) Celebrate in royal fashion (hopefully with a tan and no bags under our eyes).
4) Enjoy southern California for a few days, then drive from California to Minnesota, taking in as many sights in the west as we can fit in, rushing through eastern Colorado and Nebraska, then stopping in Iowa. Miranda doesn't know this, but I've already nominated her to drive through Nebraska in it's entirety, that way she can learn that the three and a half hour drive from the Minnesota border to my parent's place in Iowa is pleasant, not boring.
5) Dig my rusty old car out of storage and make sure it's road worthy.
6) Celebrate the 4th of July at the Miranda's family's cabin in Minnesota.
7) Return to work on the 5th.
8) Start thinking about life in Minnesota (how long do we want to remain homeless, do we need a second car, job applications for Miranda, how are we going to pay down the credit card debt we just wracked up, how much longer can we live out of suitcases, etc.)
There are probably a number of important things up there that I missed, but you get the idea of what's to come. As much as I'd love to blog about these experiences, I can say with near certainty that it isn't going to happen. Our lives are approaching a complete state of chaos. If there's one thing that I learned from the move to Sweden, our subsequent travels and all of the challenges that we've faced along the way, it's that everything works out alright in the end. At least, that's been the case so far. My eternal optimism says it's perfectly okay to be overwhelmed, but there's really no need to worry. Plus, Miranda will worry enough for the both of us.
I may be steering this crazy ship, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm still just going to enjoy the ride.
Wish us luck.
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