Wrapping Up a Life... or Four.

October 2012 to March 2013 was spent in mental transition... as our belongings got packed up and stored/shipped or donated...

My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes - Cosy! :-D

The topics we got stuck on a few times were:
a) When to sell the first of our two cars - most sensibly Tom's, but see previous post about how tired I became attempting to save money by using one car; getting him to work on time (7:50am) then working the full-time + extra hours I'd dedicated myself to...
b) Our beloved bed! Kingsize and our prized posession (many Saturday mornings I would collect pastries as I cycled home from Bootcamp, wake HG & we'd watch films & series to our hearts content, usually with a purring puss or two snuggled next to us)...
c) Definitely most importantly, the aforementioned and much loved kitty cats. It broke our hearts to have to pass them onto new owners, however we couldn't afford to ship them and this also seemed more unfair to us than rehoming them. Both found loving homes with humanz to give them regular cuddles & affection <3

Kitties confused by the departure of all the house plants... donated to a friend & colleague; I wonder if they're still alive!

 

Mum (on right) & son (one of four) didn't get cosy near each other very often, so this was a delightful sight...

During the months, we spent time working on a lengthy visa application (including a day trip to Berkshire for HG to have a medical examination, a Police Check and a Love Story of our beautiful relationship!); handing notices in at relevant times, ending work relationships with Young People (I'd just become confident in my new position & had even earned a higher paygrade), and saying g'bye to friends and family.

Between December and March, my Gran became more frail, sick and generally unwell. She'd been in and out of hospital/residential home and began to deteriorate.

For Christmas I'd bought my Mum a voucher for a night in a hotel with yours truly, as I saw the quality time together as meaningful when we didn't have much longer in the same country. A few hours into our weekend together, we got a call to say my Gran's health had declined. We bailed the hotel and headed back to see Gran. We stayed with her and other family members until late. In the morning, I managed to get Mum to come for a blustery walk and some lunch before we returned to the hospital.

Now, I feel that Granny deserves more than a snippit in this rushed post. So I intend to dedicate more to her; I have a list of things I remember and love about her, so I shall add this someday.

Things started happening... in February, I posted the application to sponsor my HG as a spouse, whom I, as a Canadian Citizen, will be responsible for, for 3yrs after his permanant residency has been approved. I put maximum effort into the application - not wanting to chance anything being incorrect - as we were jumping straight into Canadian life prior to the application's completion. In the meantime, Tom would be on a Work Visa.

Not long after, this arrived...

and so whizzed our life through our last few months, weeks and days in UK.

Meanwhile, JR & his wife were expanding, preparing & working hard to include us in their business, home and life...