It’s our final night here in Karmiel and while things are moving along nicely, there’s a certain amount of things you just can’t pack in advance which makes the final hours busy.  I’m here blogging because I’ve been going and going all day on very little sleep, and need to have an early night.  But I’m feeling relaxed and calm even though I’m tired.

The movers are supposed to be here by 6:30 am, which means everyone and everything has to be ready by then.  I’m going to be taking ds9, ds7, ds5 and ds2 with me on a bus to Jerusalem, where dd20 will meet us and we’ll all take a bus from there to Ramat Beit Shemesh.  The plan is to be there before the movers so I’ll be able to direct them where to put things.  Ds21 and ds16 are at our new apartment now, painting so when we move in it will feel fresh and clean.  They’ll be there when the movers get there even if I’m delayed on the bus.  Dd18 and dd14 will take a bus a couple of hours after me, and dh and ds12 will stay behind to finish cleaning and painting our Karmiel apartment.

I have a good feeling of closure here in Karmiel.  Last week one shul made a kiddush for our family and we got to say goodbye to some people.  Then midweek there was a goodbye party for me and I got to say goodbye to other friends. This Shabbos there was a kiddush at a different shul for our family and that was a chance to say goodbye to others.  Also this Shabbos a friend was making a bar mitzva, and when I went to say mazel tov to her, I was able to say my goodbyes to a number of Hebrew speaking women with whom I’m friendly at yet another synagogue.

Shabbos afternoon I went to our corner park where my kids spent hours every week with friends, and chatted with the regulars there.  Then I went to the home of a close Israeli friend and visited with her until Shabbos was over.  Tonight my mother had us for dinner which was a huge help, and we got to spend time with her.  It’s all come together to be the perfect way to say goodbye to a number of the people we feel connected to here.

While it feels like the right time to be making this move and that RBS is the right place for our family to be moving to, I am just done with moving.  I’m grateful that our kids are so willing to work with us to get everything done, and they’re a huge part of why our moving preparations are going smoothly.  Even so, I don’t want to have to do this again.  Our hope and plan is that this will be where we plant ourselves for good.

My goal is to get our home fully unpacked by Tuesday evening.  I realize that’s just a day and a half after moving in but I want to direct my attention to settling in physically as quickly as we can so it will leave two days to figure out where to go shopping and prepare for Pesach.  It’s not a lot of time but I’m optimistic that we can get it done in a calm and joyful way.  I’ll try to check in before Pesach to let you know how things are going!

Avivah