Reality that you’re about to move around the world in a month begins to sink in as you see pieces of furniture and decorations around your condo disappear as they are sold to friends or packed in boxes to be opened upon our return to the States.

That’s where we are at right now. Matt has been doing great selling some of our stuff at work and a post we made on Facebook about items we are selling has worked almost better than if we’d held a yard sale.

It’s bittersweet to see rooms empty out and carts of clothing, decorations and office supplies get dropped off at Goodwill. On one hand, it’s exciting to think of what’s ahead and freeing to get rid of much of the stuff we’ve both accumulated over the years. On the other hand, it’s sad to know we’ll be saying goodbye soon to the life we’ve built together here and, most especially, our fur babies.

Having to say goodbye to Lucky (our dog) and Truth (our cat) is the hardest part of this move. We know there’s no way we can take them with us as we won’t be in any location long enough for them to get out of quarantine. So we made the heartbreaking decision to adopt Lucky and Truth out to friends that we know will give them both amazing homes.

Watching them watch us pack is one of the hardest parts. They don’t understand what is going on and there’s no way we can help them know that we love them both so much that we’ve had to make the decision to give them new homes. So, for now we spoil them and give them as many hugs and kisses and snuggles as we can fit in each and every day. Meanwhile, Matt and I both try to put out of our minds that sad day when we’ll leave them with their new parents–if we didn’t, we’d both cry each time we looked into their sweet eyes.