We're short-timers here in Canada; we only have a couple of months left. I wish I could say that we are excited to be leaving, excited for the move, that whole drill. Moving in itself can be really exciting, unless it's something you have to do every couple of years.
Right now, we're planning two moves actually: one back to Washington, D.C. and one to Albania a year or so after that. I've got to plan both moves in advance, and it's truly a logistical nightmare. I have to plan for what we will need immediately (during home leave), what we'll HAVE to have while we're in an itty bitty apartment in D.C. (pretty much clothes and toys, because we can't have much), what we're going to need in Albania (we'll have a furnished house with no option to politely decline things that might not go with our decor), things that we want to keep forever but have to put into storage, and plan what things we want to get rid of (such as the two tons of toys my kids will never miss but won't let our of their sight).
So there's that planning, for which I've created an epic spreadsheet to keep it all straight. Then there's the home leave planning: making sure we get to see everyone we love and that we get an ample amount of time with each of them, while praying we can get some down time to enjoy our Congress-ordered "vacation."
Then there's the logistical nightmare of actually getting out of Canada with both boys, both cats, etc. Imagine everything you'd have to take care of in order to move from one country to another. The thing is that because we live in a place as "America-like" like Canada, much of the work that was taken care of for us in Ecuador (due to language barriers, etc.) just isn't done here. Yeah, I know how that sounds; but it's true. The lists of things that we have to do between home/jobs/kids/car/pet export and import/etc. are just inches thick of paperwork. I know, I know: Poor pitiful us! It's not hard, per se; it's just time-consuming and and really detailed. It's overwhelming; that's the word I was looking for. It's honestly easier to move from a "foreign" country to another "foreign" country than this.
Okay, enough of that. Another really difficult--okay, infuriating--thing that's really frustrating is that I can't register my oldest for school until we're actually in D.C. and have our address and all that. Well, we're not going to be able to swing getting there any earlier than a week before school starts. Big deal, right? Well, not so much. Because we can't register him, we can't get on the after school care list either. So he may not get a spot; and so then what? Guess I'll see in August/September. And my youngest...that's another obstacle. There's actually a free preschool program at the school, but you have to put your name in a lottery to get a chance at grabbing a spot. Well, you can't put your name in....unless you are in residence there already!!! So no free preschool for us. Okay. What about daycare? Well, the United States is amazing and has so many great programs. The only problem is that you have to qualify for them. Stay with me, here. There's a childcare subsidy that we could get for Emerson, which would help us pay around 20% of that $1000/mo bill. Only we don't qualify for it because we "make too much money." Hey, I understand that completely. That money should go to people who REALLY need it. The problem is that whether or not you qualify for next year depends on THIS year's tax returns. Well, I won't be working NEXT year because I'll be learning Albanian and other courses (if I get a spot), which is why I will need that subsidy so bad. We're going to be taking a 40% hit on our income when I quit working! It just sucks. It's just that this once we really need to be able to use those great programs, and we can't.
So, basically, I have no idea what we're looking at as far as childcare and after care, and language classes, etc. So I am trying to put in resumes and applications for different jobs now; however, nobody wants to go near me due to the fact that I don't even arrive in D.C. until end of August. Good grief.
But, the bright side is that I priced plane tickets from Albania to Paris, and they run around $250 USD each. That alone is worth this B.S. Seriously. Maybe we'll get that honeymoon after all!
