As we count down to moving day, mum and I are spending a lot of time having the same discussions and coming to the same conclusion of “well, once we see the house we will have a better idea about that.” From deciding who is going to have which of the 6 bedrooms, how much of the house we can plan to use while work is being done, what the work being done will be. The list goes on! It’s funny though because, when we aren’t talking about specific things, I forget we haven’t actually seen Glenlochar. You know when you have spent so much time thinking about something, it’s so very real in your head that the little details aren’t necessary? That’s how it feels.
Kev has been working on location in the middle of nowhere in Scotland, coincidentally, for several weeks now. In his absence, Tillie, Scarlet, and I (some of us contributing more to the process than others!) have packed up the boat and moved into mums. Moving off Hamba Kahle up was bittersweet, she’s been our floating home for nearly four years, and what a ride it’s been. We’ve learned how to be boaters, embraced the joys, and sworn over the less joyful aspects of living on board! She’s taken us to all sorts of new, previously undiscovered parts of the country as well as shown us familiar places from a whole new perspective. From central London to mooring in the middle of nowhere just because we can, boat life has been an adventure filled with moving every two weeks (until lockdown), navigating oh so many locks, sharing location pins with friends and hoping they find us, teaching Scarlet to walk the plank, bringing a newborn home to the boat, hangovers on a rocking boat, boat side braais, towpath parties, indoor dance parties, answering never-ending questions from strangers walking past, lots of corrections of her name pronunciation, rooftop sundowners, tank filling and emptying, endless conversations about whether we really do have space for this and that (spoiler: we never did 
). It’s been a blast but new adventures mean the end of old chapters.
Leaving HK meant not being able to put off the task of packing up mums house anymore. Mum has been packing for what feels like months and the house is slowly transitioning from home to a house filled with boxes. Tackling the loft was firmly on my To Do list and it’s taken us moving out of No31 for me to give in and go up to assess how much is actually up there and what needs to go. Needless to say, there were a few differences in opinions of whether some things should be coming with us or not but I did, somewhat reluctantly admit I do not need all the paperwork from college, my degree, my PGCE, and my NQT year! The eleventy hundred Winnie The Pooh beanie babies and cuddly toys were a much harder decision to make…
People keep telling us that moving is one of the most stressful experiences we go through as adults – throw in two households moving together, moving to a different country, the distance being hundreds of miles and doing it all in a post lockdown world, and it’s definitely not been simple! Every time we think we have something sorted and all the items on the To Do lists crossed off, something comes up.
Amidst the packing, mum and I have been mentally preparing to say goodbye to No31, to Guildford, and to all the friends we have here. Sadly lockdown means we’re not having a going away party but that’s probably a good thing for now as there have been enough tears with small goodbyes! But, we’re fitting in walks, coffees, and wine, with loved ones who are all planning visits.
As the packing boxes pile up, it all feels very real now – we really are moving next week!