The Return List

One of the first posts I ever made in this blog was called The List, and it was quite literally the list of some of the big-ticket items (sell car, rent condo..) that I had to take care of prior to my move to the UK.  Well, it goes without saying that as we prepare to return to the US, Version 2 of "The List" is in full swing.
I've come a long way from scratching out things on a piece of paper to keeping a full blown spreadsheet with color coded columns:

The Return List

This is but a small fraction of everything that needs to be done, and I haven't quite gone in to full-blown detail ('final utility bills' instead of separate line items for electricity, gas, and water...), but I am nonetheless surprised at how shockingly different The Lists are from one country move to the other.  Yes, there are some similarities, but not as many as I would have expected for the same general experience.

My only hope is we're able to stay on top of everything.  I'm trying hard not to get too stressed over all of it (my mantra: 'it will get done'), and in particular, trying not to let Simon get too stressed, as he's also got his Dad's estate to deal with-he's the executor.  It will happen-goodness knows how bad it was when I came here-but I'm hoping that it won't be as bad, or last for as long.

The glass is always half full, right?