We're moving to Poland

For over a year Kevin and I have been discussing moving international with his company. We wanted to do it for the boys, to give them a more global understanding of our world.  Plus, we thought it would be really cool for us too. ;) We looked at jobs in Dubai, The Philippines, and Hong Kong with Kevin applying for a few jobs in Hong Kong.  The race was very tough for the jobs in Hong Kong but out of 20+ applicants, Kevin made it to the top three; not too shabby. The Hong Kong interview process took over 5 months from start to finish and we were informed that it was normal for an international job posting to take a long time. Knowing there were 2 other people in the race for the job, Kevin kept looking for other opportunities. And, as I always say, 'everything happens for a good reason', and one day he received a message from someone at work letting him know there was a posting for a job in Poland that might interest him.  One weekend afternoon as I was paying bills in the office and he was doing some work in the kitchen, he yelled to me and said "What do you think about Poland?"  I paused for a moment and replied "I don't. I've never thought of Poland; Ever!"  So, the Friday before Thanksgiving he submitted his resume for the job and the whirl-wind adventure began. He had an interview the week after the holiday and then one each week up to and including the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  Then the waiting began, we thought, but we didn't have to wait long because by the first week of January Kevin received notification that he had been selected for the job! So for those of you keeping score at home that is 6 weeks start to finish vs. 5 months. WOW! And that was just the beginning!
 
The boys and I have never traveled internationally; in fact their first trip ever on a plane was just 6 months prior on our trip to Disney, so we needed passports. Since we were dealing with the government, we assumed it was going to take the full 6 weeks they quoted to get them. We decided that Kevin would go to Poland and start his job on February 14^th, and then fly back to help us pack up the house and we would all fly over together the first week in March.  Once again the waiting game was cut short and we received our passports in 3 1/2 weeks, way to go US government.  So, now we had to decide if we would stay with the original plan or try and go as a family for Kevin's start date.  It was really an easy decision; we are all happier and healthier when we are together as a family. Now our new goal was to go with Kevin on February 12^th so he could start his job on the 14th.  Are you keeping up? I know have just over a week to pack up my family and move to another country! YIKES!!!

The first order of business was to get the moving company to the house to tell us what we could take and what we could put in storage. Now, for those of you that truly know us, you had to smile a little when you read that last sentence.  Yup, we put it all in storage people! Once we learned that we were allowed only 3 shipping containers and each container was only large enough to fit a king size mattress, headboard and foot-board, we decided that furniture was not a priority to ship.  Ikea here we come!  We did ship our king size mattress, our 4 bicycles and our TV with the rest being the kids toys, all our clothes, and some basic home goods.  Honestly, the first day the movers were at the house, it was like Black Friday at Walmart! I honestly don’t know what I packed, stored, gave away or just plain left behind!  Fortunately the kids were at school and I didn't have to worry about them getting packed away into storage. It truly was a very stressful event for me.  I have only done it once before and that was a domestic move so I didn’t have to make many decisions on what to take and what to store away, so trying to sort out what I was going to need/want in Poland vs. what I wanted to put in storage for 2 years was not my favorite part of this moving experience. 
Thankfully my parents and Kevin’s parents were able to come down that last week and help us with the packing.  They were a godsend! If it weren’t for them, I would never have gotten the kitchen packed and god knows what would have been put into storage by the packers (one guy tried to wrap up my butter dish with butter still in it! I wonder what that would have looked and smelled like in 2 years. Kevin’s parents loaded up the camper and our truck with things we couldn’t or didn’t want to store and hauled it back to Maine, while my parents loaded up the van with hand-me-downs for my great nephews and drove that back to Maine. Once the weather is better in Maine they will possibly all drive down again to haul back the trailer and drive back the Saturn, unless we can sell it to someone in PA/DE before that happens. Speaking of selling, we did sell the camper but we sold it to Kevin’s parents so we are happy it will stay in the family.  Also, my Dad is helping us out by selling our van in Maine.  We would not have been able to make this move as quickly as we did without our families. Thank you all so much for your love and support.

I know a lot of you have been asking ‘what are we doing with the house in PA?’ We made the decision to rent it while we are away. With that said, since our time was so short during this transition and every minute taken up with packing we were unable to secure a tenant or a management company prior to our departure so that is being done long distance.   We are blessed to have a wonderful neighbor keeping an eye on things for us in the meantime.  Thanks Bud!

I think that sums up our last few weeks in the US. It was a crazy, stressful, and emotional few weeks, but we made it to Poland and we are looking forward to the next chapter in our lives.

Stay tuned!
Cheers!