“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” Anais Nin
October 1st. Mexico! Finalmente. Arrived and found us filled with a weird mix of excitement, trepidation, downright to a Friday the 13th scariness to a single OMG of what are we doing.
Our day started when Luis, the driver who I’ve been using the last three years for my weekly work travels, picked us up from our friend, Eileen’s home. We’d been staying there for the past week because our home was being repainted – getting it ready for leasing without a stick of furniture or a single spoon remaining.
From Eileen’s, we drove back home to pick up 17 pieces of luggage including 3 carryons – how Luis managed to get them all in was a small miracle.
@LAX … early morning at Alaska Airlines’s bag check-in counter …….a very happy day for them – my credit card screamed when approved, told David there goes the wine budget for the year.
Uneventful flight with arrival in Guadalajara. 13 out of the 14 checked-in luggage arrived quickly on the carousel, while the last piece stopped at Starbucks for a cappuccino. Slight glitch through customs: too much luggage flagged us for additional inspection. Lots of questions, review of documentation, talks to customs manager, 👍 finally given. Then all luggage had to be X-ray’d all while sweating profusely like Kavanaugh during his questioning, the only difference – my answers were truthful. Only one suitcase was tagged for inspection and that contained prescription drugs, vitamins, and my CPAP supplies.
Finally made it out of customs 2 hours after our arrival and Manuel, our driver, greeted us with his friendly, smiling face. Getting all the luggage in and on top of his midsize SUV was nothing short of another miracle – between the roof rack and the interiors we managed to squeeze it all in. David contorted himself to fit into the back seat nicely.
First stop – pick up the rental car in town that I’ll drive until our final immigration paperwork is finalized, at which time we’ll purchase a new vehicle.
Time lap overview: make decision to retire > Mexico trial living period > Mexican consulate to acquire permanent visas> selection of what to bring down > movers > back to consulate for inventory approval > estate sale > sell both cars > get apartment ready for lease > fly to Mexico.
A funny aside – we discovered our sofa being resold by our next-door neighbor, who obviously purchased it at the sale for probably next to nothing. There it was – staring at us sadly.
All of the stressful, emotional triple loop roller coaster ride of the last two months, filled with moments of trepidation and doubts, came down to a single thought and emotion as we finally walked into our new home …
IT FEELS RIGHT!
