Logistics

Any move involves a lot of logistics, simply because there’s a lot of details that need to be taken care of. Making an international move, however, has unveiled an even longer to-do list. I’m sure, too, that since we haven’t actually moved yet, there will probably be a thousand other things that come up that I’m not even expecting.

For the past several months, though, I feel like I have had a constant swirl of activity in my mind. All the pieces of the giant puzzles that are floating around. I feel like I have to keep thinking about them because if I don’t they’ll float over to a corner, get lost and I’ll never remember it again!

Things like getting a passport picture of each kid…scratch that—getting a GOOD passport picture of each kid. Actually just having to get passports for each kid. Getting new copies of birth certificates for all of us so that we can get a special notarization called an apostille (sounds like aaap-oh-stee-yay). Yep, I’d never heard of it either, but apparently we need it to move to Honduras. Figuring out whether or not to ship our things in a container, and whether or not our things will fit in a container. Figuring out what container company to use, what size of container to get, how much the container will cost, when the container should get here and how in the world we will load the container in 2 hours.

Things like trying to figure out all of the policies we need—medical insurance, life insurance, evacuation insurance (yep. We have to get evacuation insurance.) A post office box so we can still have a state-side address. What sort of company we’ll use for maintaining a US phone number. What kind of computer to get because our old one is going to explode any day. I’m almost sure of it.

Things like ‘cleaning out’ my kids’ bedrooms while they’re gone so I can slip some stuff they won’t miss in the trash. Things like scourging the closets of everything that we no longer wear.

Things like going through every drawer and cabinet trying to sort out the junk from the good stuff. The stuff I’ll need and the stuff I won’t.

Things like trying to figure out what we’re going to need while we’re there but won’t be able to buy there so we need to buy it before we leave and take it with us.

Things like searching the entire country looking for a great deal on a vehicle that will meet our needs as a family and still be able to maneuver effectively on the, ahem, rough terrain of Honduras. Then test driving vehicles, making decisions on purchasing the vehicles and trying to figure out the puzzle of how to get the new vehicles to Honduras, sell the vehicles we aren’t taking and still have a vehicle to drive in the meantime…tricky.

Things like sending my husband to Honduras so he can find us a house to rent. Not just any house, either, but a house that meets the needs and maybe even some of the wants of our family. A house that has things like running water, a hot water heater, a good measure of security, several bedrooms and a little grass for the kids to play on.

Things like planning out our last 8 weeks down to a T, trying to make sure that we get everything taken care of and that we are able to spend some time visiting with everyone that we really want to visit with before we depart.

That’s not every single thing we have to do, and not all of those things are that huge. It’s just a list of a few of the things that have been assaulting my thoughts over the last several weeks. It’s crazy. In January, when you say you’re moving in September it seems SO far away. Even in April or June, September seems distant. Two-thirds of the way through July gets here, though, and suddenly September is very, very close! It’s almost enough to justify a little bit of panic!

Thank goodness for mentors who are walking us through things step-by-step. Thank goodness for a husband who has been on top of things like making calls to companies I never knew existed about things that I never thought about needing. And thank goodness that in the big picture, these little details really are just that—little, bitty, give-or-take details.