Last updated on May 10th, 2017 at 11:00 pm
As we got closer and closer to leaving for a life of perpetual travel things got busier and busier. So much so, at the end of last week I felt a lot like I did the night I delivered Makai: exhausted, in shock and overjoyed all at once. We accomplished so much, tied up most of our growing loose ends. But we still didn’t get everything we wanted to get done, done.
Seriously, 2 and a half years in the making and we didn’t get everything done!
All of the most important things did come together, though: Mom can park in her garage again! The boxes that invaded her parking spot migrated to donation bins, the landfill and some in her basement until we make it back and reevaluate what we really need. We did manage to get rid of the majority of our possessions. The biggest things anyway.
The last big thing, our truck, sold on Kijiji and was gone by the time we arrived in Miami, thanks to Rob’s mom and sister. We decided about 2 weeks ago that we should keep some of our things as we prepared to liquidate the rest of our stuff on Kijiji. Mom and dad felt the same. I think us keeping some daily living essentials made them feel we would be home, if not soon, someday. We didn’t want to get a storage unit as our travel budget is really tight and we couldn’t justify the monthly cost. We were lucky they shared our feeling on keeping some stuff and again helped us by letting us keep said stuff at their home.
Then there were taxes, insurance, doctors appointments, packing our foreseeable living needs into 4 suitcases (2 carry on size, 1 medium 55-liter suitcase, and one large 75-liter bag), banking, bill paying, currency exchanging, prescription getting and then….
The hardest part, amidst all the craziness we still had taken the time to do the thing I have been avoiding the most, we had to say goodbye. At the end of last week, I left my job, I am so glad I had to work right up until the end!
Work combined with all of the cleaning up was a great distraction from the inevitable farewell. So many great people to say bye to at work and then it was our closest friends and family the night before we left.
Leaving was as I expected, HARD and emotional. Tears filled my eyes at random moments all last week. I could just think about leaving our dog and tears would well up at work, on the bus, in the middle of a conversation, the heartfelt sadness would come over me where ever. He will be living with mom and dad while we are away, he loves them so much it makes it easier to leave him in such good hands.
And then there are Rob’s parents, the 2 people at the beginning of this journey we thought would be glad to see us go and we would be glad to go from their home ended up being the hardest to leave. We lived in their home for 1 year 9 months and we will be forever grateful for the help they gave us to fulfill this dream.
Mom and dad organized a send off for us the night before our departure. We visited with our closest friends and family. I am so glad we had the opportunity to see the people that mean so much to us. I avoided saying the words until there were no other words to be said and more tears flowed. The hardest goodbye was the last one, Rob’s mom took us to catch our flight and I am glad she didn’t park and come in. It would have been way harder to walk onto the plane if she was watching us go.
We got on the plane, the plane I watched so many times fly over mom and dad’s place. I would watch planes take off when I was out running with Zulu and think that will be us someday and that someday finally came.
Our countdown is done and as much as I dreaded goodbye I feel excitement about saying hello to Colombia.
Making decisions… like your life depends on it
Oh Tracey, I can relate! It is such a stressful time, preparing to leave for long-term travel. You never get everything done!!! Rest assured, the loose ends will inevitably get tied, or you will realise that some can remain loose! Wishing you all the very best for your adventure and looking forward to following along!
Thanks Sarah. Your Surrendering to win post helped me come to terms with some of those loose ends. It was a challenge for sure but we are on the road and no matter what happens with those loose ends, resolved or not, we are finally traveling and I am so happy to be where we are:)
I teared up reading this!! It’s real, it’s all happening now!!! I’m so overjoyed for you Tullis’ !! The dream is now your reality 🙂 Funny that I haven’t seen you in such a long time, I have missed you and thought of you lots, you were (and are) my friend and mentor. One of the greatest leaders I have had the privilege of working for. You have left the country with your little family and I am sad we didn’t get a better, more proper, goodbye. But on the same hand, I am SO incredibly excited for you and your family!! I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you! I will be reading along, like so many others, laughing, crying, smiling, enjoying, worrying and being slightly jealous 😉 Good luck Tullis’, be safe, write lots, and make memories!!
I am tearing up reading your words too friend. You supported this dream from the beginning, you watched the idea brew in my mind, and you never once called me crazy, thank you:) I still can’t believe it, but it is becoming more real each day. I have so much to do to make this dream sustainable and the strange thing is I have never been as willing to work as hard as I know it will be to make this last to my grave.
True friends stand out when you make decisions like Rob and I have and we have been so lucky to have the really important people in our lives support us. What makes you special to me, my dear friend, is you have always been the first person I have always shared my big secrets with and lucky for me you have always supported me. Thank you friend!