Next Chapter

It's Friday morning, C2 returns tonight from his trip to the U.S.  The weather looks ok so not anticipating our usual weather delays.  We have the weekend in Victoria with Phil, Marge, and my mum; and then C2, J, and I embark on our next chapter.

There is much to do in the coming days, we depart for Melbourne January 17, arrive on January 19, must collect keys from the house agent and open our new house.  Feels a little odd since we only actually visited this house for about 10 minutes and largely forget what it looks like.  Is there a downstairs bathroom?  Is there an upstairs shower?  How big was the garage?  We've got to get bank accounts opened, money transferred, two cars and GPSs purchased, and figure out how to get around on the dang wrong side of the road.

This is the only part of relocating that I am not particularly fond of.  The figuring out of new services, finding the nearest grocery store, feeling like the only one in the city perpetually lost, and perhaps most profoundly, feeling like a visitor waiting to go home.  I remember from our relocation to Geneva that most of this uncertainty passes in a couple of months as familiarity settles in.  Just kinda wish I could fast forward to that part.

I am also trying to be very zen about Murphy's pending journey.  She is scheduled to ship in early February out of Geneva to Zurich then to Amsterdam where she will overnight before transferring to Malaysian Airways to Kuala Lumpur, changing planes, and carrying on to Melbourne.  She will be met by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service upon arrival and driven to the quarantine facility for a 30-day stay.  She is a healthy 12-year old Labrador but still a 12-year old dog.

I expect a minor miracle if she survives the journey with her health and complex documentation intact.  I would expect a second minor miracle if she survives the quarantine.  I fret about her distress and feeling of abandonment.  This is a dog used to sleeping in our bed and receiving much love and attention.  My heart gets stuck in my throat every time I think too much about her.  I am trying very hard to acknowledge that between myself,  Nathalie (who has her in Geneva right now), our wonderful Genevois vet, and our Melbourne-based pet relocation agent, we have dotted every "I", crossed every "T" and done everything in our power to ensure her a safe experience.  She will soon be in other, and I hope, equally compassionate hands.