The Dreaded Inventory

So today, I left my happy little place called denial, and began the process of preparing the house to move overseas.



I really miss my happy little place.



Bryan has been gently prodding me to take part in what is called a "home inventory". Apparently the freight company estimates the weight of our freight container based on our inventory. So Bryan lured me to the task with a bottle of wine and a clipboard. Woooohoooo....let the romantic evening begin. It started out easy enough with our living room that has no furniture and is filled with one of everything they sell at Toys R Us. No Problem! Bring 5 boxes of toys. Next!



Then we did the dining room. Still, no major issues. Minor snafu determining what table linens will be needed in Switzerland. Then I realized we don't know a soul in the country and have no one to speak to, much less entertain. So we nixed the table linens and moved on to the kitchen.



This is where the wine came in very handy. Seriously? They have a line for cake plates and not wine glasses? And what exactly would you consider a baking pan? Prior to this inventory, I would have said I have 2 baking pan, but after our 20 minute debate about what is considered a baking pan, we now proudly own 27. My observant husband noted that each time we made reference to Switzerland, I took a big swig of Chardonnay. He then voiced his concern that he may have an alcoholic wife once we hit Swiss soil. I assured him they must have good rehab centers in Switzerland. I was mostly kidding.



He questioned why we needed our turkey roasting pan and with an exasperated look I replied, "Uh, Thanksgiving?!?!?!". He gently reminded me they don't give a rat's ass about the pilgrims and informed me that we'd be lucky to find a 3 lb. turkey since all their poultry is a fraction the size of our good old American KFC worthy poultry. As you might have guessed, I refilled my wine glass.



After wisely suggesting we call it quits for the night, Bryan listed the other rooms we still had left to inventory. He found it amusing that I would need to count how many shirts I am bringing. I found it even more amusing that he was excited they had a category for lingerie. Silly man.



So a little bit of reality faced me today and luckily, despite feeling totally overwhelmed by the process, we were able to have a sense of humor about it. I'm guessing a sense of humor will be key to our new life in Switzerland. Fortunately, we both find each other pretty amusing and more importantly, we really enjoy making fun of each other. So imagine the material we will provide each other as we flounder our way through swiss life. Hopefully my friends in rehab will have a sense of humor too.

Is this really my life?

If you'd told me 6 months ago that I'd be blogging about my life, I would have laughed and thought perhaps you liked to partake in a little midday cocktail. My life hasn't been all that exciting up until recently. I've been your typical suburban housewife. Married, three kids, 2 cars, convenient little life in the suburbs of Chicago. I live 10 minutes from where I grew up and where my parents still live and 5 minutes across town from my older sister. My younger sister, who lives on the other side of Chicago, was considered radical for living SO FAR from the rest of us. I mean, an hour and 15 minutes away from grandpa and grandma, our go to babsitters? No, not for me.



Now, somehow my husband got me to agree to move across the ocean to Switzerland. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I think it involved him pouring me lots of Chardonnay. He told me we could go visit for a week after Thanksgiving and of course my bags were packed and grandpa and grandma vaguely remember seeing me fly past them towards the door while yelling "Good Luck" over my shoulder. I have 3 kids ages 5, 4, and 2. HELL YES, I would agree to a week long Swiss vacation! No diapers to change? No bribing children to ingest green beans? And best of all, a solid nights sleep? Say no more.



Needless to say, Switzerland is the most beautiful place I have ever been and it doesn't hurt that they have the best coffee and chocolate on the planet. So with a latte in one hand and swiss chocolate in the other, I agreed to make a go of it. Looking back, it really doesn't seem fair to ask me to uproot our lives while I'm vacationing without children and stuffing my face with my 2 favorite things. I was drunk with the splendors of Switzerland and should not have been considered fit to make any life changing decisions.

Now the reality of that weak moment has set in and the work has begun. The list of to-dos is endless. Packing, finding a home for our annoying cat, applying for visas, applying for international schools, and squeezing in as much time with our friends as possible, is a lot of work. We are looking at it as an adventure. I'm scared to death to move somewhere without a support system, but I also know this is an opportunity of a lifetime. When our 2 year adventure is over, I have no doubt we will be glad we took the plunge. The kids will become better people for the experience and Bryan and I will too. There was a time when I was adventurous and loved taking risks. I even jumped out of an airplane a couple times. But that person has been hiding behind 3 kids lately. Hopefully Switzerland will find her alive and well and ready for the unexpected!