Open Words

Two and a half weeks are still to go. Three months of preparation lie behind us. So many things had to be clarified, visa, residence, etc.. Again and again new topics pop up, things that were thought to have been settled long ago are only waiting with a new surprise around the next corner.

A new car from a leasing contract - which was already closed in March 2022 due to the poor delivery situation - has to be released again, we terminate the leasing contract. This turns out to be more cost-intensive than expected. We had to return our old car before the end of the leasing contract - a minus business despite high used car prices.  Slowly, we are running out of kilometers to drive - we have to rethink, reschedule and often call on the help of my father, who drives us somewhere at almost any time of the day or night. Mobile phone contracts have to be terminated, insurance policies shut down or canceled. What looks like a trivial matter at first glance drags on like chewing gum. Again and again, information is missing, there is simply no progress, we hardly get anything done, and if we do, it is only to put a new topic on the to-do list.

Mentally burdening is above all the question, what will happen to our cat? She strayed to us a few years ago - she was chipped, but an "owner" was not registered. The stray has always been around the neighborhood a lot - we don't want to simply take him out of the environment and give him to someone else. We are afraid that he will run away. Of course we can't take him with us either. Most neighbors have dogs. What do we do therefore with our tiger if we are no more there, leave him in the middle of the winter?

Besides, we try as far as it goes to complete all doctor's visits of the next two years. Here again to the dentist, there to the dermatologist, the family doctor must be persuaded also still to write the permanent medication for the next years now already on the prescription. Vaccinations are also on the agenda - I get four at once, which is pretty exhausting, Martin is spending a lot of time with several doctors - the vaccine for Japanese encephalitis is rare and against Corona we are not simply boosted again - the family doctor alone can not help.

Meanwhile, at work, of course, everything just continues - 100% performance is required.

The household also wants to be done, plus work that still needs to be done on the house or in the garden, sorting out clothes and major cleaning I actually wanted to do as well. Not to mention packing - so far we've stacked a few books that we'd like to take with us. The washing machine has given up, the customer service doesn't have time and so I carry, week after week my laundry to my mother. Without her help, we would probably have been either naked or in dirty clothes for weeks.

Weekends are spent as much as possible with friends and family - all the loved ones we won't have close for so long. The feeling of saying goodbye is constantly hovering over us. In addition, there is the question of whether we, or I, are really welcome. My colleagues in the team are happy, but I still have to convince others.

No, right now it's not fun. Right now it's just exhausting - without any ChiChi and nice words. Time flies, the tasks don't get less. Sometimes it almost crushes us. No matter what we start, it can rarely be done in one go and time is running. What seemed like forever away in August - enough time to get everything done - is now just an Advent candle and a New Year's Eve rocket away.

Of course we'll get it done in the end, we already know that. We won't get everything done that's on the list now, continue to prioritize and apply a good dose of pragmatism here and there, but in the end everything will work out somehow. We have the best support for this from our loved ones and we have each other. We will continue to take care of each other, share worries, and give each other a hug. And even if sometimes it seems really annoying or especially gloomy, the anticipation and curiosity about the new experience continues to prevail. If only we were finally there.