5 down, how many to go?

It sounds a bit like a prison sentence, doesn't it? 5 to 6 months to wait on your visa which you've already been told will be granted, at some point, you just have to sit around and wait for it.

We're getting close to the end of the initial estimate now. When we applied, most visas were being granted around the 5 month mark. Now apparently it's closer to the 6 month mark. That puts us smack bang into the Christmas/New Year period when the Consulate is closed, so if we're not awarded before Christmas it will be the new year.

We fly not far into the new year, so it may be quite a close call, we'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime we've been busy sorting things out at both ends. We're fortunate enough to have somewhere to live when we get there, but we haven't sold our house here. We had a buyer, but unfortunately she was no good at maths so had to pull out of the sale. With not very long to go before we fly we're left with the very real possibility that the house won't sell and we'll be stuck paying the mortgage on an empty house. We've decided to look into renting. It won't cover the full mortgage payment each month, but is certainly better than us having to find the full amount ourselves to send back.

We've also been making lists of things we're taking and things we're not. Years' worth of books, magazines and clutter is being sacrificed ahead of the move. You don't realise how much "stuff" you have until you have to sort it all out and get rid of it. We've booked the removals/shipping company for 10 days before we fly.

I'm trying to get the 5 year old excited about the move and talk her through any worries she might have. So far, spiders, ants and missing her English grandparents are the big worries. She's excited about her new school and making new friends, which is good as she was so worried about starting school here initially. The toddler is largely oblivious and will be happy as long as she has an endless supply of fruit stars, Peppa Pig episodes and milk.

My husband swings between fear and dread, I think. I guess in a lot of ways we may as well be going to the moon as far as he's concerned - he just can't see through the flight to what's beyond. He can't conceive of living in a different country at all.

Time will tell, I guess.