Lasts and firsts

Today is my 38th birthday. It's been a wonderful day, lunch outside, a trip to the pool, Lou Malnati's for dinner, and hugs and kisses from my boys all day long. I even received several homemade presents including flowers, drawings, and books.

Birthdays always getting me thinking about the past and the future at the same time. Today is no different. In all of our cleaning lately, I came across some pictures from my 30th birthday. At the time, Steve and I were married but had no children. I was blonde, he had hair. We celebrated my birthday at the Nustra cottage with my dear friend Amy, who was visiting from Atlanta. We all look so young and energetic in the photos. Great memories.

And then I started to think about my 39th birthday. I will probably celebrate that one in England. So my 38th birthday is probably my last birthday in the states for a while. Kind of strange.

And that's been my way of thinking a lot lately. Our last trip to Santa's Village, our last get together with good friends, our last doctors' visits.

Of course, these are just lasts before we move. I know we will get together with our friends on trips back, and we might make it back to Santa's Village too.

There's no escaping it, the countdown is on for our move to London. Three weeks to go.

But with that comes many firsts. The boys' first passports, our first car in England, our first places to visit in Europe. And these are pretty fun to think about.

This whole experience is a bit of a whirlwind. With only three weeks to go, you would think we would be all set and organized. The truth is, we still don't have our plane tickets booked because our visas aren't finalized and we haven't scheduled the movers yet. These things are all in the works, and I have complete faith they will all get done in time. It's just a lot is happening at once, a little like lasts and firsts at the same time.

So instead of getting caught up in the crazy, I'm trying to focus on the little important things. Like how I will stay in touch with all of our wonderful family and friends. FaceTime and Skype will be essential. You can find me on Skype at karbarrett11. We taught our moms how to use these this week. I've also become much more proficient at texting using WhatsApp. And of course, I'm trying to blog a little more so I can keep track of all these wonderful crazy things happening for both myself and anyone else who's interested in reading about it.

I'm really looking forward to the last time I drive on 90 through construction and the first time I get to drink proper tea.