Countdown! On the Move to Panama

Well, it’s official.

We’ve vacated our house in Florida. Even as I type this, the estate sales company is in there pulling everything out of cupboards and drawers, tagging it and getting ready to sell it all off on Saturday.

And, frighteningly, even though we feel as though we’re selling off everything we own, we moved a lot of stuff into the home of the friend we’re staying with temporarily while we wrap up here.

Some things are going into storage — several boxes of favorite books that are out of print and unlikely to become available in a Kindle or other e-book version, important tax and other documents we need to keep for a period of time, a handsome teak desk I’ve had since 1971, and a few other odds and ends.

We’ve also set up some very short-term storage, items we expect to retrieve when we return in a few months for a family wedding. We’ll fly back with big, nearly empty suitcases and fill them up for the return trip to Panama.

Our dogs have been busy exploring their new, temporary home. I discovered, when I let them out into the fenced back yard, that there’s a hole in the back corner. Naturally it’s in the hardest spot for humans to get to, behind the canoe and the shed. How did they know to zero right in on that spot?

As I type this the pups have finally settled down at my feet, tired from all the morning’s excitement.

We’ll hang out here for a few days while we get a few more things organized, then we’re off to Atlanta to visit my husband’s family. I’ll be on a flight to Panama shortly thereafter.

“Do you have an address there?” friends ask.

No, we have no idea where we’ll live. My task when I arrive will be to find a short-term (3-6 months) furnished rental. Once I’ve got that lined up, my husband will start the paperwork for bringing the dogs into the country, then he’ll fly down with las mascotas.

I’m exhausted just thinking about it. I think I need a nap.

There’s an old saying — “a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” If you’re intrigued with the idea of creating a new, untethered life for yourself overseas, there’s an excellent tool for breaking the process down into single steps. Here’s my review.