Leaving the United States....and events leading up to it.

While I am a few years late on starting this blog my experience is one that I would like to share. Some things you may not understand at first will become more clear as more posts come.

In the spring of 2000 I met a Dutch National that was living in the States and in 2001 I married him. He will now be referred to as "My Ex" as we are now divorced. I will not post pictures of him. I wont be posting pictures in this first and maybe the next few blogs because I dont have pictures from that time on my computer.

On March 1 2004, I left the United States with "My Ex", my 16 yr old son Jeremy and two American dogs, Lady and Peachy, to begin a new adventure in Holland (The Netherlands).

The thought of moving to another country is very exciting and scary all at the same time. A new culture, climate and set of rules. The preparation for that move is a whole other experience.

Years of accumulation of things had to be sold, donated or gifted. Just like moving from one house to another, utilities had to be shut off at just the right moment. Mail stopped. Bank Accounts diverted. We built a container to ship what we wanted to bring with us and drove it to Atlanta the week before we left to start the journey. The most harrowing of all.....Paperwork had to be in order.

Every official paper had to be "appostilled" meaning that the State in which that paper was issued had to attach an official letter saying the paper was valid. Birth certificates, divorce papers and marriage licenses had to all have this "appostille". What a pain. The dogs had to have a health certificate and a rabies shot within 30 days before departure. No one told us that the dogs also had to have a certificate of "acclimation" to move from a warm environment to a colder one..till we got to Delta check in. I called the vet..she was at lunch....She asked me if I had a blanket in Peach's carrier (of course I did, the dog has no hair on her belly and would definately get cold). Barbara (vet) rushed back to the office to sign said certificate and fax it to Delta. We were on our way!!!