Au revoir

Living lightly, packing up, moving on.

Today is the day. It's snowing, the packers are here and I am finalising all the loose ends of our life in the UK.  I'm also emailing backwards and forwards to the realtors in Toronto about finding us a new home. I say home rather than house because I firmly believe that home is where your heart is and home is what you make it.  Home in Toronto is likely to look different to the UK but wherever we land I will make a nest.

We have lived in a fabulous home for the past (nearly) 3 years.  A little bungalow on a magnificent 5 acre property next to a stunning "big" house. I couldn't have imagined living here and I am so thankful that we found this magnificent place and it's lovely owners. In their words, we arrived as tenants and leave as dear friends.We are so grateful to have found the best landlords and made a new friendship.

And now the detritus of our life is packed in boxes on a truck. Not that many boxes. Everything was done and dusted in 3 hours. We came with 2 suitcases and 2 carry-on bags and we have tried to live lightly. This is not an easy thing. Marie Kondo makes it look simple. Despite this, in an attempt to live minimally we have resisted the urge to buy unless it was necessary. Some secondhand pieces (crockery, dining table & chairs) were purchased, some pieces (sofa bed and a TV) were gifted to us and we tried to buy no more than we really needed. And still, as I sorted what to take and what to leave behind, I found that we had gathered so much that was so unnecessary, the small dust bunnies of life. I have now managed to pass most of this onto others. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

My wardrobe did not miss the sorting process.  I have been trying to turn it into a capsule wardrobe for a couple of years and now it is truly tiny. I look forward to buying a few well chosen pieces to add to it.  Living lightly takes quite a bit of work.

So that's it. Our 42 pieces are in the truck, our 3 suitcases are ready for the plane, an afternoon of cleaning ahead, two dinners and we are off!  My heart is full of gratefulness for all we have seen, done, experienced and participated in. For jobs, friends, church and village life. We take with us so much more in memories, and our hearts than we came with.

People say we are adventurous and fearless but we are just ordinary people living an extraordinary life. We have hopes, dreams, fears and failings just like everyone else but we are trying to live the one life we have to the max. Follow our next adventure, to Canada.

Grateful. Excited. Apprehensive (just a little). Loved.

Au Revoir