Last week before we leave

Get rid of house content - check.
Say goodbye to family and friends - mostly checked and ongoing.
Close bank account - check.
Change address - check.
Get pet medical clearance - booked.
Violin - check (poor Herman).
Countdown to departure: 4 days.

The last four days before we leave is a whirlwind of checklists. The biggest challenge is that our urgency is not anyone else's. Everyone else is still going to work and doing normal life stuff, but for us it is a matter of deciding having dinner with one friend means missing dinner with another, or maybe not saying goodbye to our son who is on the road most of the time.

Timing is important. You don't want to close an account until you have stopped direct debits, but you cannot cancel your insurance until you have new insurance in Mexico. Timing is everything!!

"Do we take a duvet or a sleeping bag?", becomes a discussion. So, we are packing, while living here for a few more days, while juggling when we return the house keys vs what we can pack in the car. In between we are delivering items to kids and friends of kids and hoping that we are not throwing anything away that we may need. Unlocking phones and setting up electronic mail is done between shuttles to the donation bin. Mostly everything becomes either a donation or a garbage item. It is really not difficult to do once you get going.

The best comment from Herman: "We really don't have a lot of things to pack in the car." Music to my ears because I thought we had too much. HeeHaw!

Three more days and we tried fitting everything in the car; and we did! Time for celebration. Off to the LCBO.