I should have added dark chocolate ice cream to the things that I will miss list. I had dark chocolate ice cream for the first time in Senegal in 2006 or 2007 and it was so yummy. I couldn't wait to buy some when I got back home but was saddened to learn that it wasn't sold in the US. I looked everywhere. I mean everywhere. I was obsessed with finding it and nada. Finally, in 2011, Haagen Dazs sells it in our area. Well, they may have been selling it earlier but I just didn't know about it. But you can avoid that disappointment. Did you know you can go on their site and enter in your favorite flavor and zip code and they will tell you when the three stores nearest you are going to receive their next shipment?! Seriously!! How awesome is that?! Wish I had known about that service before!! (or maybe it's better that I didn't!)
Since I won't know when the next shipment of dark chocolate ice cream is arriving at my neighborhood grocery store after I leave I must keep my freezer stocked now. Especially since our move is quickly approaching. Trust me when I tell you that I am freaking out about all the details! I have lived abroad before but I was young and didn't have a child or a house to contend with. This is so much more complicated and stressful! Readoption documents and court dates! Passports! Visa applications! Pre-school applications! Hiring movers! Purchasing plane tickets! Doctors appointments! Packing! Storing! Yard sales! Craigslist! Freecycle! Taxes! etc. It's non-stop and never ending and all consuming. And I have to do it while working full-time, parenting solo and with no money. And create a lovely Easter basket, too. It's a magic show I tell you. LOL Ice cream is definitely necessary!
Though while I am getting sad about all the things I will be leaving behind, which I posted a few days ago, I am also starting to get very excited about all the new things we have to look forward to! I focus on these when I feel like pulling my hair out. Here are 25 that I thought of off the top of my head.
1. free time (to read my photography manual & other books, scrapbook, work out, etc.)
2. warm weather year round
3. less access to processed foods, chemicals, hormones, dyes, additives
4. a pool and gym in my building
5. affordable, weekly tennis lessons
6. meeting people from all over the world
7. getting to spend quality time with my daughter
8. seeing parts of the world I have never seen before
9. attending the same church my parents did 50 years ago
10. paying off credit card debt
11. no more landscaping
12. having my daughter attending a play-based pre-school
13. a live-in nanny
14. a live-in nanny who also does housekeeping
15. a live-in nanny who also cooks
16. having a clean home
17. living near a beach
18. not having a monstrous to do list
19. living more simply, with less clutter and material possessions
20. inexpensive manicures, pedicures and massages
21. having time to date and possibly meet my husband
22. cheap produce
23. not having to pack lunches
24. losing weight and getting healthy and fit
25. finally realizing a dream to work abroad
These are the bright and shining lights at the end of this long, long, long tunnel. I gotta keep my eyes on the prize cause I believe it will be worth it in the end. Stay tuned.
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7 comments:
I czn't STAND tue suspense!!! When will we be able to know where you are going? When you mentioned the ice cream in Senegal, my heart jumped! I thought Oh so COOL (I have a soft heart for French speaking Africa :o)) I wish you all the best in your packing, preparing and everything else on the to do list (my head spins at the thought, and I feel for you. I say skip the pretty easter basket :) You can make up for it next year when you're settled! I will send positive vibes and energy your way to help have the process go smoothly :o). And I will dream about where you two are going till you tell us :) The "looking forward to" list sounds wonderful :) What a gift you are giving Almi. I at times wonder if I shouldn't do the same thing, not because I'm having a hard time here, but because of the artificiality of things here (the food, the media, the non simplicity, having to take the car to go anywhere (UGH) and so much more... You might inspire me to look more seriously into it at least :o) Sending the vibes! :o)Leo
Wow! As a fellow single mom and adventure seeker, I'm jealous AND inspired! Can I follow you???:)
Whoo, I am looking forward to finally reading about where you will be going and what you will be doing! It sounds fabuluous!
So excited to hear more about your move!!! Wishing you and Almi all the best in your journey.
I am so excited for you. I dream about moving abroad all the time and even have a passport but I have never used it. Congrats on your move and new adventure. Wishing you most success.
Sen
I think you are moving to the Caribbean or Africa !!! It just sounds idyllic do they have any more jobs! I am so jealous you have will have a by the sound if it all year long beach sounds divine. Anyway I am so glad for you you have lived the dream ad they say " feel the fear and do it anyway", the only issue I have is " do they Internet access so you can keep us updated?
Have a super Easter. How are you going to cope with the trillions of eggs Almi is going to receive ?
D
I'm thinking Asia....:)
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