A Bittersweet Farewell

Our last weekend in England was focussed on enjoying some great family time. We took long walks with the dogs, played some board games, and were treated to a special Italian dinner together at a lovely restaurant in the Cotswalds - The Bridge in Fairford.

The last days have consisted of packing, sorting, packing and sorting...and yet more packing and sorting. Our last night at home was a late one, and Lucile was an incredible support staying up with us and being such an encouragement until most of it was done. Her experiences of moving nearly 20 times in her life was a help when we didn't know what to pack next.

We knew we had to take a lot stuff with us which is why we planned to take 2 suitcases each. However we didn't take into account that one of them would weigh in at over 31kgs - bear in mind that the maximum weight per suitcase is only 23kgs! Fortunately the kind lady who checked us in took pity on us and didn't charge the extra $200 she should have for an over-weight piece of baggage. Having Lindsay's lovely face to appease the check-in lady proved yet again to be very beneficial.

Pre-tears

The photo above shows reddening eyes and puffy cheeks. A few minutes later the cracks began to appear...a little later again, and the dam broke leading to floods of tears on the plane...

We are both extremely sad to be leaving England. We leave behind life's greatest gifts - an amazing family, great friends and a wonderful community. All have been a blessing to us and we are eternally grateful to all concerned. But we are focussed on the future which is also very exciting. What we'll do in San Francisco is not yet clear but at least we'll enjoy a little more sunshine in the process of finding out...! We both know there's a greater plan at work here and we cannot wait to see what is in store for us around the corner. There'll be many exciting adventures to report on, but for now - we'd just want to say thank you to our friends and especially our family for all their support. We love you and couldn't have done it without you!