So much to do, so little time...
April 26, 2014
Today I had a mini heart-attack when I temporarily misplaced my to-do list. This is a W-i-P list where I jot down what to take, what to give away, what to sell, numbers of people, moving quotes, contacts, furniture dimensions etc. It was like my guiding beacon amongst the chaos. And there is so much of it - not the transactional stuff but the planning and perspective to take on recent events. I am happy that finally we are doing this, was long pending now. It is the suddenness which one needs to accept and go ahead with the best preparation and planning possible.
I am not peeking too much in the future as of now. Priorities are being dealt with - the first one being the children's admissions. To begin with we will stay at my in-laws. In the recent years, a 2-week stay during holidays would seem long to me, now that there is an indefiniteness to the time period - but I am not spending too much time on that, other things take precedence.
Suddenly I am too busy, much more than I can handle. We've put up stuff to sell on a few sites - probably the last time I struggle with Dutch and French simultaneously. It is better to put it up in both languages as it reaches more people. I am receiving random calls and sometimes I struggle to understand if they speak too fast. Or there are mails and I try to answer as soon as I can. Hmm, would be great with customer service roles.
Kids will be going to school till the very last possible day. There is the school fest on the Sunday before we leave and Big G was keen to take part. That means I have the additional task of getting the costume organised. In all the sorting and deciding over what to take - the kids' stuff was the most tough and heart-wrenching for me, as I had to let go of a lot of stuff, but why hoard simply. Big G did not want Bijibe dolly, she wants to take Mini Mouse. Lil G wants to take Baby Annabel, I've also taken along Pingu, just in case. But what about Shona, Pilla, Raja, Rolap, Chuju, they have been given away to the Kring Winkel and hopefully they find a home soon. I have saved some of their baby books, loaded with memories. We have been invited to friends' places over the weekends. I will be giving away most of the books to them.
People ask if we are happy to leave, yes, without exception, every single person has. There is no yes or no answer to it. I am happy, relieved, but also overwhelmed by the enormous change that is upon us. But I am looking forward to it. The fact that we'll be close to family, is the biggest draw. Another is being able to belong more easily without putting on an exceptional amount of effort into it, which would not leave bandwidth for other things. I feel occasionally guilty about dwelling on the negative aspects about my own country, especially in comparison to life here. But one has to be realistic and that in any case does not change anything. I also put it down to my innate resistance to change and routine, and of suddenly being transported to living after a hibernation. I realise I lead a limited life here. To my friends here who have made a home for themselves, I wish them best of luck and a good life here.
PS: AM writing this in the middle of teaching my older one Hindi alphabets, little one some abc. The ice-cream with his van and the music passes by. I hear some doors opening, my Dutch neighbours counting their pennies carefully and standing at the gate, spring flowers blooming in their immaculate gardens. I will definitely miss the good times here.
PSPS : This is a post I had written during our last few days back in Belgium. It still feels like yesterday, though we've gone through so much over the last one year (of course good and not great times, but c'est la vie)
Today I had a mini heart-attack when I temporarily misplaced my to-do list. This is a W-i-P list where I jot down what to take, what to give away, what to sell, numbers of people, moving quotes, contacts, furniture dimensions etc. It was like my guiding beacon amongst the chaos. And there is so much of it - not the transactional stuff but the planning and perspective to take on recent events. I am happy that finally we are doing this, was long pending now. It is the suddenness which one needs to accept and go ahead with the best preparation and planning possible.
I am not peeking too much in the future as of now. Priorities are being dealt with - the first one being the children's admissions. To begin with we will stay at my in-laws. In the recent years, a 2-week stay during holidays would seem long to me, now that there is an indefiniteness to the time period - but I am not spending too much time on that, other things take precedence.
Suddenly I am too busy, much more than I can handle. We've put up stuff to sell on a few sites - probably the last time I struggle with Dutch and French simultaneously. It is better to put it up in both languages as it reaches more people. I am receiving random calls and sometimes I struggle to understand if they speak too fast. Or there are mails and I try to answer as soon as I can. Hmm, would be great with customer service roles.
Kids will be going to school till the very last possible day. There is the school fest on the Sunday before we leave and Big G was keen to take part. That means I have the additional task of getting the costume organised. In all the sorting and deciding over what to take - the kids' stuff was the most tough and heart-wrenching for me, as I had to let go of a lot of stuff, but why hoard simply. Big G did not want Bijibe dolly, she wants to take Mini Mouse. Lil G wants to take Baby Annabel, I've also taken along Pingu, just in case. But what about Shona, Pilla, Raja, Rolap, Chuju, they have been given away to the Kring Winkel and hopefully they find a home soon. I have saved some of their baby books, loaded with memories. We have been invited to friends' places over the weekends. I will be giving away most of the books to them.
People ask if we are happy to leave, yes, without exception, every single person has. There is no yes or no answer to it. I am happy, relieved, but also overwhelmed by the enormous change that is upon us. But I am looking forward to it. The fact that we'll be close to family, is the biggest draw. Another is being able to belong more easily without putting on an exceptional amount of effort into it, which would not leave bandwidth for other things. I feel occasionally guilty about dwelling on the negative aspects about my own country, especially in comparison to life here. But one has to be realistic and that in any case does not change anything. I also put it down to my innate resistance to change and routine, and of suddenly being transported to living after a hibernation. I realise I lead a limited life here. To my friends here who have made a home for themselves, I wish them best of luck and a good life here.
PS: AM writing this in the middle of teaching my older one Hindi alphabets, little one some abc. The ice-cream with his van and the music passes by. I hear some doors opening, my Dutch neighbours counting their pennies carefully and standing at the gate, spring flowers blooming in their immaculate gardens. I will definitely miss the good times here.
PSPS : This is a post I had written during our last few days back in Belgium. It still feels like yesterday, though we've gone through so much over the last one year (of course good and not great times, but c'est la vie)
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All the best with the move my best wishess ...
ReplyDeleteBikram's
We already moved, this post was in my drafts, just republished it! But thanks anyway:)
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