You would think that in a 600 square foot condo that you were renting out furnished there really shouldn't be that much to deal with. Yet with every single item we owned a decision needed to be made. Can I take it wIth me, give it away to WINS, put it into some kind of storage because it simply can't be replaced or has too many memories attached, or does it go into the garbage? I am sure ten boxes went to Jenn's including our whole liquor supply that had built up over the years. The scotch collection to some really good friends. More treasures went to my sisters, including clothes that now fit her better than me so with possession being nine tenth of the law I hope she enjoys wearing them as often as she can. The storage room in our condo is filled to the brim with souvenirs collected from our travels over the years, my dolls ( yes I kept a few) golf clubs and skis just to name a few items. At least 20 bags or more of clothes and household items were donated to WINS and even more bags found their way to the garbage. I may have personally been responsible for filling one full BFI garbage bin. Finally the condo was emptied, cleaned and ready for the renter to take possession. Thank goodness for Skylar's help as he hauled bags, boxes and pictures down to the car or garbage.
During the time I was preparing the condo, I also had Refractive Lens Replacement surgery on my eyes. After years of struggling to find a contact that could correct the far sightness, near sightness and sigmatism in my eyes it was becoming more and more difficult to find a suitable solution. New glasses were going to cost $1,400 and would probably need to be replaced numerous times over the rest of my life. RLR surgery, would last forever and cost ~$5,000, if I was a good candidate and it could all be done before September 15th, 2014. Between June 30th and Sept 2nd, 2014, I had two pre-operation
exams, the eye surgery and three post-op exams. My regular eye doctor could not believe it happened so quickly. My vision for distances is now 20/20 or better and I will always need to wear reading glasses for reading and clear vision of anything up close. There are a few things I will never see again, like the fine hairs that grow under my chin or the eyelash that falls into you eye. However, my vision is a drastic improvement on my previous situation and I can buy a heck of a lot of pairs of reading glasses for $1,400 at $25 a pair.
Eyes done and condo rented I now had two solid weeks to focus on wrapping up my contribution to WINS, while spending time with family and friends. Jenn, Chris and Skylar had graciously offered to let me live with them and I thoroughly enjoyed their company and support during those last several weeks. Big Brother just won't be the same again without watching it together, that is if we actually can access it here in Kenya. I will miss reality TV.
Spending time with my sister, mom, family and friends made the stress of "your entire life in transition" bareable. In all honesty it was definitely a bit overwhelming at times but I got through it without any major meltdowns. I still think Mr. Coutts owes me lots of pampering for the next six months or more.
Two days before I was due to leave WINS, my replacement was announced. At least we would have two days cross over time. Laura being announced as my replacement for some reason gave me a huge sense of relief. Not sure why but I now felt that I could leave and our programs and projects would continue to proceed and grow. I could leave with good conscience that I had left the organization set up for success and in way better shape than when I started.
Next was to sell my car. Again not sure why, but giving up my car seemed to be the hardest step of all. Maybe because it was the final step, or maybe because it had been the best vehicle we ever had or maybe selling it to a family member made me worry what's if something goes wrong with it or maybe ..... Who knows but it was hard.
Now the only worry was how to get three suitcases of possessions into two, as I purged more dresses, coats and articles of clothing. At least Chris and Jenn gave me a closet to keep the balance of my clothing in so it would be there for my next trip home. According to the bathroom scale both suitcases were ounces less than fifty pounds and my carry-on was 26.6 lbs. All I could do now was hope my scale weighted in the same as the airport scale.
Brad, Jenn and I stopped for breakfast at the new Deluxe Diner on the way to the airport and enjoyed eggs Benedict all away around. Always a favorite and a predictable order for me.
At the airport one bag weighed in at 48.6 lbs and the second at 52lbs. I could just play $75 for the overweight bag or we could try and rearrange things within the two bags and then go to the end of the now long line-up and see if I could get both bags under the 50lb limit. Somehow even rearranging the math didn't quite add up and trying to get them both even would be almost impossible so I just made it easy for everyone, mostly me, and paid.
I am not sure if it was the agents first day or just a bad day, but she seemed frazzled and kept asking her peers how much weight was acceptable for the carry-on (of course I was over by 3/4 of a kg) and then sent one of my bags down the carousel without a baggage tag. Eventually she got up with the bag and set it aside to tag. We crossed our fingers that it got placed back on the carousel in time to make the correct plane.
The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful and I watched three movies. "Belle" - a great movie, definitely worth watching. "The Chef" - funny, entertaining and predictable. I enjoyed it. "The Normal Heart" with Julia Roberts. The film depicts the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City (among gay people) between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. A heart breaking film, a little tough to watch, but delivers an important message.
On the flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi I got the entire row to myself, so was able to stretch out and enjoy. I slept most of the way and limited myself to only one of the two meals they served. Then I watched a few episodes of comedy TV and I was there. Being at the back of the plane, I was near the end of the que to clear customs. Fortunately the line was moving quickly, with six agents working the "Visa" lines compared to just three agents on my past trips.
I either look extremely honest or the agent was getting tired as I passed him my documents and the $50 visa fee and within seconds he was waving me through. As I walked up to the baggage carousel one of my bags was right there and then I waited. Guess which bag was the last to hit the carousel. I stood there wondering if the bag actually did get tagged in Calgary correctly or made the plane, because it certainly appeared to be missing. Finally as most everyone had left the station my bag appeared. With a sigh of relief I headed out of the airport to meet Randy. I had arrived safely with all my possession intact. Tears of emotion fell from my eyes as I found Randy waiting for me at the entrance of the terminal. Back together again.
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