so very bittersweet

the past ten days have been a complete whirlwind!

last friday:
-ian's sister (sarah) and her husband (michael) had been in town all week.
-in the afternoon we got an email, just as we were leaving for the airport, from our landlord saying we needed to move out by the following thursday (we were planning to move ten days beyond that, but were open to a new tenant moving in sooner to allow us to save on rent costs).
-flew to normandy for a long weekend with sarah and michael (sarah is a history teacher and has had a dream her whole life to visit the beaches of normandy!)

saturday-monday:

visited amazing historic places, informative museums, and sobering cemeteries ... and got caught in a crazy wind/rain storm at mont st michel! enjoyed our time with family and learned a lot about world war two -- all while semi-frantically trying to book movers and figure out lots of moving logistics (time off work, childcare for moses, buying boxes, etc etc.)

tuesday morning: 

sarah and michael returned to the usa, and ian left for a business trip in norway.

tuesday-wednesday: 

i packed up our house like a maniac, grateful for help with moses from friends and the children's centre at ian's office.

thursday: 

-ian boxed up the last bits of the flat that i didn't get to or left for him.
-our tube line was down so we rushed to a taxi to get to our 10am inventory check-in meeting at our new flat (15 mins late...).
-rushed back to the old flat to meet the movers, directed them and met them at the new flat.
-tried our best to navigate the situation when the movers damaged a couple pieces of our furniture and scratched up the floor in our old flat.
-rushed back to the old flat again for a check out meeting and to hand over our keys.
-worked on processing the emotions of deep melancholy leaving what felt like our first family home and of electric thrill being in our new home.

friday-saturday: 

unpacked, tried to figure out utilities and trash collection and our dishwasher (!!!) and where to store things and what we need to buy and etc. and learned how to support each other in a transition that we experience differently from each other.

sunday: 

attended our ward (as official members of the congregation - we will go visit for sure!) for the last time and tried to wrap up some responsibilities there. and cried.

phew! definitely one of the craziest weeks of my life - logistically and emotionally.

as i fell asleep on wednesday night, i felt tremendously heavy with heartache around leaving our flat and our neighborhood. it all just felt too soon, and rushed, and i was just sad.
when i woke up on thursday morning, i could literally feel a wave of bright anticipation wash away the sadness. it was like a switch. i had processed the grateful melancholy and it was time to move forward with grateful excitement.
and there has been a lot of giddy happiness in my soul as i've unpacked and explored our neighborhood and fallen asleep under the tall ceilings of our new home. i'm really, really thankful that we found this place, got a great deal on it, and get to make it our own (and stuff it with family memories!) for the next several years.

the best is yet to come.