Here is my reality.

I have six sleeps left in our home and we fly out in 10 days and I seriously have no idea what is left to do.

Let me try to explain what this week looks like…

Tomorrow we trade in the car and pick up a rental car, but in the reverse order. Saturday we rented a truck to bring the last of the furniture to storage — beds… couch… table… the final pieces. Monday Poppy has her vet appointment to get her EU passport. Friday we sign the papers on the house.

In between all of that we have what I have heard described as MayCember.

Band concerts. Final games of the season. Girl Scouts. Field Day. 5th grade farewell. Birthday parties. School events. Class parties. Soccer games. Volleyball games. And apparently our kids have decided this is the week to become extremely social and have been planning their own get togethers… which means I am currently sitting on a school playground writing this blog post from my phone while serving as full time taxi driver.

Adam is not taking any time off. I am not taking any time off. The kids are not taking any time off.

Adam is deep in client work. I am finalizing proposals… supporting clients traveling this month and next… and working on organizing three 2027 Travel With Me opportunities so all of my clients have time to choose one… put down a deposit… and have plenty of time to save and pay it off. I needed that done yesterday honestly.

I still need to go through the closets one more time. We need to get to AAA for international drivers licenses. I am pretty sure I have scheduled all the utility shutoffs. Pretty sure.

We have a hotel booked for our last four nights in Kansas.

And we think we have found our car in Norway. 🎉

Oh and Adam’s Mom is here. She is in our kitchen right now making whatever recipes she can possibly kanooodle from our remaining ingredients and keeping us all completely sane. I do not know what we would do without her this week.

I am also hungry. That feels relevant to share.

This is what my brain feels like right now.

But you know what I keep thinking about?

That first cold glass of airplane wine at 35,000 feet somewhere over the Atlantic on our way to Scandinavia.

That one. I can picture it perfectly.

10 days. 🌍🐾

Q: What do you need to do in the final week before a long term international move? A: More than you expect and in less time than you want. Our final week includes trading in the car… furniture to storage… Poppy’s EU vet appointment… international drivers licenses at AAA… utility shutoffs… one final closet purge… house signing… hotel for the last four nights… and approximately nine thousand end of school year events. Oh and work. Because neither of us is taking time off.

Q: What is an EU pet passport and how do you get one? A: An EU pet passport is an official document that allows your pet to travel freely within European Union countries. It includes your pet’s microchip information… vaccination records… and health certificates. You get it from an accredited vet — Poppy’s appointment is Monday. The process needs to be timed carefully as certain vaccinations and treatments like tapeworm testing have specific timing requirements depending on your destination country.

Q: How do you keep working during a major international move? A: You just do. Adam has not planned a single day off during the transition. My client work continues with proposals and travel planning happening from school playgrounds and hotel rooms. The beauty of a location independent career is that the laptop goes wherever you go. The coffee helps too.

Q: What is a Travel With Me trip for a travel advisor? A: A Travel With Me opportunity is when a travel advisor organizes a group trip that clients can join — all the planning is handled for you and you travel alongside your advisor. I am currently organizing three 2027 Travel With Me opportunities for my clients so they have time to choose… deposit… and save. If you are interested reach out at nicole@adventuresweseek.com!

Q: How do you handle the emotional reality of the final days before leaving your home? A: You stay so busy you barely have time to feel it until a quiet moment sneaks up on you. And then you picture that cold glass of airplane wine at 35,000 feet over the Atlantic and you remember exactly why you are doing this. That helps enormously.