I had already shipped three small boxes to Korea, mostly books and small electronics, and thought I’d covered my bases pretty well.  And over the last several months I’d done a decent job of purging my home of unneeded items. Things I couldn’t pack, shop or store I’d either sold or given away, sometimes to just the trash man. As far as getting things really ready, well my bases were covered.

I’m glad I had at least a day off before flying out. I don’t think I’d ever witnessed such a rapid uncovering of bases before. If I were looking to have my ducks in a row, we’d be quite nonlinear today.  I packed only two bags, each weighing about 60-65lbs and another backpack I’d take onboard the plane. That was all fine. It was everything that needed storing that got me. I completely filled Jessica’s closet in her spare bedroom and I made a nice dent in Dad’s storage shed. I still have a boatload of stuff and was surprised how much I’d purged yet still retained so much.

As I write, I have less than 12 hours to go. So many people to call, so much to contemplate – I have no desire to sleep, although I’m tired enough.  I’m trying to work out the hours I should sleep on the plane so I’ll be ready to go to bed when I get “home.” It’ll be 7am Wednesday here when I get to my place but 10pm Wednesday there.