Wow, I can’t believe this is the fifth week of Countdown! posts.

When we got within the 90-day window for our move to Panama, I started this weekly recount of all the preparation steps we’d taken during the week. Any move is a big undertaking, but the first overseas move is ginormous, so I thought it might be helpful to future expats see what someone else is doing, step by tottering step.

You can find the previous Countdown! posts here.

Week of December 4

House Repair

Last week I announced happily that our last big repair project was finished. That was the bathroom retiling, and what a relief it was to be done. Now there’s just a lot of smallish stuff. We have a ceiling fan to replace (not a big job for my electrician husband), some painting touch-up, spackling and touching up holes where picture hooks used to be, and so on.

We did list our house with the rental agent this week, and there’s now a sign in our front yard. It doesn’t sound like much, but it was really a very significant step since we won’t leave until we have tenants in the house.

Packing and Organizing

I took another bag of clothes to Goodwill. I think it’s multiplying on its own. . . I don’t know where it’s all coming from.

Frenzy of cleaning in the leadup to listing the house. . .

I’ve been de-cluttering the house for showing. Taking the family pictures off the walls, packing away the handful of items from my grandparents’ home that I plan to keep and that sort of thing.

I’ve also been going through files, disposing of reams of old ones we don’t need to keep. I’ve started making copies of the most important documents so we can bring originals with us (for things like the pensionado visa application) while storing copies with a relative in case someone here needs access to that information.

Selling Stuff

I meant to contact estate sales agents this week, but didn’t get to it. Will do it next week. Really.

Moving the Pets

I’m happy to report that the kennel rearrangement worked. We’ve put the oldest dog in the smaller kennel by himself, and the whiner together with the youngest. Since then, we’ve been able to enjoy a quiet night’s sleep every night. And the dogs are getting used to the arrangement. They now trot happily into their appropriate kennels each night.

This week they go to the vet for their regular 6-month checkups and routine shots. Hopefully, when we take them for their pre-departure physicals they’ll be good to go without anything additional.

Maintaining Our Lives

I knew this would get more complicated. . .

We had a dinner on Friday with friends and former coworkers. Had a lovely time, but it felt like the first of many “goodbye” parties. We have another party this evening, the annual Christmas do for an organization of avid bicyclists that my husband belongs to. I’m not sure I’m really ready for this.

Spent a long time on the phone yesterday with a friend I don’t see often enough. They’ve known for a long time we were planning on moving out of the country, but when I shared our plans with her yesterday the shock coming through the phone lines was almost palpable. We planned a time to get together after Christmas, as both our calendars are too full to do it before.

And, finally, my husband spent a long time on Skype last night with his parents. He shared our timetable for the first time, and they were very unhappy but seemed to accept it. Considering how strongly his mother has attacked the idea in the past, she took it well. (Although I don’t think for a minute we’ve heard the end of it.)

Do you have any funny moving stories to share? I could use some laughs right about now. . .