Moving vs.Vacationing

Backing up a bit...

Last December, we found out that we were moving to Hawaii.  We knew the military match date was December 15th and eagerly anticipated the news it would bring.  As the date approached, we found out that we could check the results online a day early.  Huge deal.  So December 13th at 11:50pm we broke out the computer and literally watched the clock until it hit midnight so we could "refresh" the page as soon as possible on December 14th. To our surprise, we (obviously) found out that we'd be moving to Hawaii.  

It's hard to sum up what we were feeling in those initial moments.  Ideally, we would have liked to defer and stay in Erie.  And if we got a military residency, we thought it'd be Texas.  Those were the options that we were mentally prepared for. A one-year internship in Hawaii was something totally outside of our realm of possibilities.  We were truly shocked.  Maybe even a bit disappointed.  But I felt a strange peace about it.  I vividly remember thinking, "This isn't a mistake."  It was so beyond what we could have planned for ourselves, that it was clearly God.  For whatever reason, He wanted us in Hawaii for a year.

Now, when friends and family found out, obviously we heard a lot of, "Oh my gosh!" or "No way, that's awesome!" or "I'm so jealous!" Things of that nature...

We wanted so badly to feel that level of pure excitement, but moving to Hawaii is a lot different than just vacationing there.  We were definitely excited, don't get me wrong.  But there were so many logistics involved, that it was overwhelming to think about.  

Okay, so that was December...

We didn't hear anything from the Army for months.  And we couldn't officially plan anything until our orders came.  We knew the end result.  We had to physically be in Hawaii.  Our stuff.  Our cars.  Our dog. Everything. For those of you who know me, you know that I'm a planner.  I like things organized.  I like checking things off to-do lists.  etc.  It was very hard for me to let go of the control I wanted to have but never actually had (if that makes sense).  

In January, we started doing some of our own research, and I'm so glad we did. We learned that moving a dog into the state of Hawaii is quite the process.  Rabies don't exist on the island and so they require pets moving to Hawaii to have blood work done proving that they're rabies-free.  In addition, the quarantine facility in Hawaii needs the results of the blood work 120 days before the pet arrives on the island.  That's 4 months.  If the results weren't in in time, then the dog would have to be quarantined until the 120-day period was up.  And the test itself could take up to 3 weeks to process.  Once we found that out, we immediately met with our vet and got the ball rolling with the process.  Of course everything took time.  And cost money.  But after weeks of waiting, we found Sydney's approved arrival date was, I believe, May 31 and we moved June 7.  We were that close! 

The months passed and we continued to go on with the busyness of work and school.  But we still anxiously awaited our orders so that we'd know our official moving date.  More importantly, though, we needed to start planning.  Everything took time and we realized the clock was ticking.  I think it was sometime in April when we got our first packet from Tripler.  With lots of paperwork to complete, our moving to-do list slowly started to unravel.  

Orders finally came in May and a few days later we shipped Dan's car.  We carpooled for the last month we lived in Erie, but it really wasn't bad at all.  I loved having extra time in the car with Dan as he'd drive me to work each morning.  And after a long day of teaching, walking out to these two was really fun:

Throughout the month of May, we did what we could to "pack."  Thankfully, we didn't have the burden of packing up our entire home since the Army took care of it.  But we could remove things from the walls and spent lots of time sorting through stuff that we didn't want the movers moving.  Reverse packing was almost harder than packing. We tried to get rid of a lot of stuff, too.  Two garage sales and lots of trips to Salvation Army and Plato's Closet. 

We spent several long nights in the garage going through stuff.  We sent many tubs and boxes home with my parents each time they'd come out to Erie to visit - things that we didn't need to take with us to Hawaii for just one year.  

Getting rid of last year's 4th of July sparklers that we found while cleaning out the garage

Along the way, we picked up some typical "Hawaiian" items, and they helped us realize the extent of the awesome adventure we were about to take. Duh, we were moving to Hawaii. We knew once we arrived, it'd be amazing, but it was easy to forget at times. 

On one of the many shopping dates with my friend Tanya, she noticed this Hawaiian shirt in the dog section as we were walking by.  She encouraged me to get it, and I'm so glad I did.  It took lots of treats to get Sydney to let us take this photo. 

Then, my mom couldn't resist buying us Hawaiian luggage.  They actually came in handy (as we later flew with 7 bags!)

One of my students gave me the most thoughtful gift during my last week of teaching.  A beautiful Vera Bradley bag and an assortment of Hawaiian items.  

My cousin sent me a care package right before we left.  It was so thoughtful and a perfect reminder just before the move.  

We had heard that it could take up to 6 weeks for your household goods to go from the mainland to Hawaii.  Knowing this, we had hoped to send our items early to split the time, so that it'd just be 3 weeks on either end without our stuff. However, since we got our orders to late, the moving company was booked when we called. Rather than coming mid-May, they started packing up our home the 29th of May. I had to work throughout the moving days, but Dan was home (thankfully).  In retrospect, it's probably better that I didn't see everything being packed up.  It would have made me nervous.  

Instead, after day 1 of packing, I came home to this...

This box made me laugh.  We're really not hoarders, I promise. 

After Day 2...

Day 3 (May 31) they loaded every last box and piece of furniture on the truck.  We were left with an air mattress and the stuff we were going to fly with.  Strange staying in such an empty house.  

Even though things were stressful at times, we were thankful for the encouragement and prayers of family and friends.  We learned to be patient and trust. And now that we're in Hawaii, it's neat to look back and see how God worked out every detail. Even though everything didn't happen when we wanted it to, it all worked out.  Moving preparations are one thing. But I don't know if you're ever mentally prepared to move to Hawaii! We're still getting used to it!

Keep Smiling...