If you ever have the chance to move to a new country because of everything Jedi’s do not seek, and instead want to feel overwhelmed, aggravated, and fearful of doing so, and just want to say “Fuck it, we are not doing this” just start thinking of how the hell does one actually accomplish this? How do you uproot your life and just leave? Every minor detail must be attended to and then you have to fund the whole thing. If you have the money, great. But if you have a budget you have to start making sacrifices. Each piece is dependent upon a thousand others.

If you are unsure about moving to Australia just stand in any room in your house and take inventory of the stuff you have. Every book, DVD, the spoons, pots and pans, clothing, furniture, car, dog…It goes on and on. And you can pick up any object in your home and it will have a story. “We got these spoons after we moved in together, remember that dear?” “Oh yes, the last ones were rubbish. These I like. I don’t want to get rid of them”. “Yes, but I am sure there are spoons in Australia.” “Yes, but not THESE spoons.” Everything we own will all have to either be packed up, sold, donated, or thrown away. 40 years of our life is about to be purged into one of those four categories.

We have to decide too on what was important to bring. Several websites and those who gave us advice suggested that we not take anything with sentimental value. My wife’s wedding rings were family heirlooms and over 125 years old. These would be placed in a safety deposit box. But we have other items. The Waterford Crystal wine flutes from our wedding that my wife personally picked out when in Ireland at the factory, will they survive the trek? My mother-in-law’s ashes. If we pack those up and send it in our container and the ship sinks, then what. She never even liked to swim. But she like cruises. And what if we leave and decide we like it and don’t come back. Then all our stuff is 9,000 miles away in a storage locker somewhere in Colorado. That would really piss her off if we left her there.

So here I am. Purging my life. Getting rid of things I just don’t need. Books I won’t read. Movies I won’t watch. Clothes I am not going to wear again. Sentiment is a funny thing when you have to put it all into a 20-foot container. It is worth it. Whether it is thinking of the insanity of it all, or just the new sights to see and the new people I meet, and stories to be heard and told, it is worth all of the months of work it takes to accomplish great adventures. Even though right now, I am only writing about it, watching half a foot of snow fall in flannel pajamas. Next? I am going to go watch Pricilla; Queen of the Desert and have some hot chocolate. Why not?