Blessed!

Blessed. There is no other word for how lucky I feel in my life.  There are waves of how blessed I feel and even at the lowest trough I am still doing really well.  Today was a plot point as my application for residence in New Zealand was approved.  I felt in my heart and in my gut, this was going to happen.  Yet, there is often (mostly too often) that voice in your head that takes over.  And I was hearing bad stories of how so many people can't get into New Zealand even sponsored by family members.  Some needed $500k in a NZ bank account before they could show up, one needed $3.5M 2 years prior to being able to show up to live.  So, yes, blessed.  I had been waiting to write more in this blog because my head began to think it was the cart before the horse.  But, at last, the horse caught up!   When the letter arrived, it was unexpectedly thin and small.  Similar to the ones you get from the college you want to be accepted to yet requires you to be more qualified.  So, I sat down to open it.  And my hands were shaking.  And as much as I wanted to skip to that last sentence, I read it one by one to soak it all in.  And I was accepted.

We are now less than two months out from departure.  As I type and Zeph researches how our residual, sentimental items will get shipped, I am relieved as few things have felt more right.  Few things I know more than to believe...some will call it faith, others will call it a leap of faith.  All I know is that if there is one thing or one person I trust to listen to whenever I have the opportunity, it is my gut.  Follow your gut.  Sometimes I'll have friends describe an uncomfortable situation and I'll ask them, "How do you feel?"  "What does your gut tell you?" The gut never lies and it always knows. 

The last sentence in my acceptance letter is beautiful.  It says, "We trust that this will be welcome news and wish you well for your future in New Zealand."  Thank you.

Pre Move- The Storage Unit

Today was the first day of organized chaos.  We set forward to meet and go through our storage unit to organize and purge.  I have a (what some would call) bad habit of purging my belongings.  I love the feeling of being able to give things away...even things of value to me I feel might be more valued by others.  This is not to say I have my limits, but the thought of those people who can move by simply packing their belongings in the back of their car holds a lovely image in my mind at times.  So, an hour later, or 3 boxes to Goodwill later, the unit looks the same to me but I know there is less "stuff".  Maybe it all goes back to the story of stuff... www.thestoryofstuff.com
Absolute brilliance in that little story. Zeph, my lovely partner is a bit of what some might call a pack rat.  He collects things and things that I cannot knock in any way shape or form because I at one point or another end up borrowing from him.  So, thanks to him, I am never without.  
The point of the packing is a move.  A move that I often cannot grasp.  Let me rephrase that.  A move that my mind cannot often grasp.  And, I like that.  We are moving to New Zealand in February.  February 14 to be exact.  About two months away and a whole lot to do between now and then.  Some ask all kinds of questions as far as where we are going, what we will be doing, and more and the beauty is we know very little.  We do know when we are going.  We do have an idea of where we'll travel the first couple of months.  But, who knows where we will end up and what we'll end up doing.  We just keep thinking about what we want.  What we want that perfect day in the life of New Zealand to look like.  So, this is where it starts.  The simple things.  The little things that add up to a wonderful life.  Mountains with lots of trails where we can mountain bike for days on end...pristine, clean water we can swim in...trees and greenery all around us...delicious, nutritious, fresh cuisine waiting for us to try...friendly people who make welcoming communities for us to be a part of...opportunities waiting for us to contribute to...lots of spots for picnics and hammocks, and some of the best ice cream known to man.  Welcome.