Big "hugs" eh? Well...see ya later

2 more sleeps...

It's been a busy couple of weeks... and the goodbyes have begun. One last date with Nick, Diwa with  Dani & Ger, a tearful squeeze with Katie, dinner with Matt & Tara (our biggest cheerleaders)... and they keep coming, or should I say going? Big hugs followed by a weird feeling that we won't see each other for a year or perhaps longer!

A lot of people are saying...it's just a year; it'll be over before you know it. It's true, but for me, it's the longest I'll have ever been away from my family and friends, so a year feels a bit like my first Olympic triathlon. Will I finish the year? How will I feel? I didn't move away to go to University and the next longest departure was 3 months in Europe back in 2005. Feels like jumping from a 5k to a marathon!

A lot can happen in a year. We're going to miss Cath & Lionel's wedding which is super disappointing. We're going to miss our friends having babies, but like Dani says, "you'll be back just in time for them to be interesting and doing stuff" Its funny because its seems like a long time, but when we sit down to map out where we want to go it's been difficult to fit everything we want to do into just a year.

This past Friday was my last day at work. WEIRD. After 6 years of Economical being my home it felt strange to be packing up my desk and saying bye to all the people I've worked with for so long. We promised Chris & Victoria we wouldn't leave until after their wedding and what a great move that was! We were happy to be part of their special day, and they threw one hell of a party. It was an awesome night, with our incredible friends. Merin I promise...I will keep my mouth shut on this trip!

Tonight we send Kaya off to live with Grandma. And yes, I know she's an animal but she's my small baby and I'll miss her.

Tomorrow's going to be the toughest...saying goodbye to the fam. So I'm prepping myself for some bigger hugs, ones where I'll want to hang on for even longer so that I can keep them with me for the next 12 months...