It's all happening

As the craziness of Thanksgivukkah has finally come to an end, I am now sitting down to write our last pre-trip post. I keep oscillating between being really happy, tired, and scared out of my mind. Sometimes this happens within a span of 5 minutes. Just to fill you guys in on what has been going on so far here goes:

The grandparents took the news WAYYYYYY better than anyone could have predicted (except Mike and myself that is) They were very excited that we are going on a trip and once we promised to Skype they seemed to calm down. One of my grandma's even asked if we were bound to stay only in Australia and New Zealand, or if we could go anywhere else if we got bored. I told her that the world is our oyster and she seemed happy. Once they shock wore off, they did express some worry to my parents, but overall, I think they are happy. I have made peace with my parents I think. I spend a lovely Black Friday with my mom not shopping and went for a very nice long walk with my dad on Saturday. They are still not happy that I'm leaving, but I feel like we are leaving things on a positive note.

Mike and I are also done with work. As of November 22 we are unemployed. I haven't been in this position since I was 14. I may have freaked out a bit over that weekend and scored a wonderful hangover as a result. I couldn't completely not work on Monday, so I spent a couple of hours, re-certifying myself in all things Epic before my access got revoked. I am now good through the end of 2015.

Mike is taking it all in stride I think. We have not really had a chance to really hang out in over a month. I miss him a lot. Thanksgiving is always very hard for me because we never spend it together, and this year it was especially difficult. I still have not seen him, as he had to sleep over at his parents to do some things for them before we get out of town.

I originally thought that the 2 weeks we had between quitting our jobs and getting out of the country would be spent with us being tourists in our own city and enjoying all that Chicago had to offer, but between the renters, and the motorcycle, and the random errands, and Thanksgiving apart, I don't think that this will happen at all. I'm hoping maybe we will do that when we come back, but maybe its impossible to staycation for people like us.

I will miss living with the Shaffies a lot. Before we moved in, I was worried that we would all get on each other's nerves and get really sick of each other. I can't really speak for them, but to me it was a very pleasant surprise that it feels so natural. Once I got used to living with 2 kids everything just fit. I can't really describe what its like to live with 2 kids, if you don't have any of your own. They are so fun, and cute and at the same time you feel exhausted sometimes. Overall I am enjoying having this peek at family life.

I have a feeling of impatience now that is growing every day. I have waited for this time for 3.5 years, and I really want to start on the adventure. I am keeping my expectations non-existent. As long as there is change, I will be happy. I want to not know what I'm doing tomorrow. I want to be open to everything and have no responsibilities to anyone but Mike. I can't imagine a life with no obligations, where you wake up every morning and ask yourself - what do I want to do today? I want a day where Mike wakes me up with the words - "arise sir, great things await" and I believe him.