Last Day @ FSI: Packout & 161st Flag Day

It's a weird moment when you watch movers pack up your stuff, tears started welling up as it started to really hit me that we're doing this moving thing (again). You would think I haven't moved before, or even moved abroad before. Quite the opposite, I was telling the allergenist how many times I've moved in the last 4 years (7 times!). And yet, this time it's different. Well first I have to say I am so thankful for having someone else doing the lugging for once. Prepping for packout was enough, I don't even know if I could've handled packing up all the stuff into boxes on my own. While I've lived abroad so many times, this time there is a definitive time frame and a whole new (very certain) reason for it.

I kept telling my A100 classmates last night at our going away happy hour that it hasn't hit me yet. Even as I was saying bye to them, it's like a part of me still thought I would see them again in the hallways of FSI. We agreed that I'd really feel it once I'm on the plane headed to Heathrow. I had such a good time meeting and getting to know so many of my colleagues at FSI, I look forward to staying in touch with people as much as possible.

Something I learned from this packout that I will never repeat again is planning other things on the same day as packout. What a mistake! I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could have packout in the morning and check out of FSI in the afternoon (and attend the 161st FSO Flag Day). I'm utterly exhausted. But what a crazy whirlwind it was! Oh naive me, I thought packout would take a couple of hours. Only because I had to get my butt to FSI to check out and they knew I was antsy did they bust their butts to get all the stuff boxed up in 4.5 hours. And what a long 4.5 hours that was! I can only imagine what future packouts will be like with kids in tow. An hour after packout was over I was watching my friends get their assignments to Monterrey, Barbados, Nuevo Laredo and DC (Congrats to everyone!!). And an hour after that I was at a happy hour in Dupont saying goodbye (again) to my best friends. Part of me wonders if I'm getting numb after repeatedly saying bye to my close friends from college and grad school - they have come to expect that I'll be moving again.

Alas, that's all for this exhausting day. Time to enjoy this empty apartment :)