Packing Up House

We pulled the trigger on this trip when we bought our tickets several weeks ago. Since then, here’s a partial list of what we’ve done to get ready.

– Vaccines and check-ups.
– Wills and life insurance, morbid but who knows.
– Organizing credit cards and general finances, which may not matter if we drain our savings.
– Finding renters to assume our lease.
– Booking movers and storage.
– Helping our nanny find a new family.
– Deferring Ava’s school for a year, because even a 3 year old applies to school in NYC.
– Taking photography classes so that I can provide you with pictures worth viewing.
– Painting our rented walls.

Painting the Walls

Despite this the prep work, it’s not until I started packing our lives into boxes that I felt the trip was actually doing to happen.

We ordered a 35 box home packing kit thinking that would cover us. Halfway through packing, I’m wondering if I should have saved all of those Diaper.com, Amazon and Zappos boxes. How did we end up with so much stuff? Clearly most of it is not necessary, given that we are able to fit what we need for the next 10 months into two duffle bags.

A couple of weeks ago, we were under the assumption that we would need two very large suitcases. We then realize that wheeling two bags while chasing two kids and jumping trains may not work. Instead we opted for camping bags. Our first purchase was the extra large size, which Ava and Kayan both managed to fit in together with their blankets and plenty of room to spare. We’ve since downsized further. Between doing laundry once a week and the kids outgrowing any clothes that fit, we’re packing light. Our rationale is that there are very few things we consider necessities that cannot be purchased abroad.

I asked everyone what they would miss the most about our daily lives that we can’t fit into our luggage.

Ava
“The park, because I love it and it loves me back.” “My toys.” “Dora.”

Kayan
“Mamadaddyava.” The kid has no clue what’s happening.

Sandeep
“The view.” “My weekend coffee.”

As for me, I’ll miss my kitchen and the certainty of a hot shower.

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6 Comments

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6 Responses to Packing Up House

  1. Appappa

    Kayan’s hilarious. That cracked me up. So excited for the journey ahead. First stop: a bachelor matchbox in Hong Kong

  2. Mike Farrell

    I don’t know you much Sandeep having just worked together a short time but I’m going to thoroughly enjoy following this adventure. The writing is really crisp and witty. Lovely. Good luck.

  3. We are so thrilled for you. All the best and we eagerly await the next chapters about this journey.

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