It's all over but the crying!

Rummage sale - check.  Mailing many boxes to Juneau - check. Give notice of retirement - check. Closing on sale of Meier compound - check.  So much has happened since mid-August.  Just when I thought this move would never happen, things around here did a complete "180" and we are suddenly planning our departure from Wisconsin.  In August, Bill came home on a one-way ticket from Juneau, Alaska, with the blessing of Siemens International, thinking that we would both leave together later in fall.  Just before Labor Day, we had an offer on one of the properties and, while this wasn't the best situation, we felt we had to grab it.  A quick plan was made for a rummage sale (THANK YOU friends and family!) to clear out the remaining doodads and thingamabobs just as we got word that the offer had fallen through.  Then, on Labor Day Monday, our realtor said he had a legit offer - for BOTH properties.  With cash.  Wanting to close by the end of September.  Decision day had arrived and Bill and I looked at a calendar to see how this was going to work.  Adding to the mix was another week of training in Chicago as well as a family wedding in Green Bay, both in October.  We had to consider travel plans; specifically, how long it would take to drive to Juneau.  We started counting forward on the calendar, and realized that we could leave on October 21, arriving in Juneau on October 30.  I wanted to give enough notice at work to ease the transition for our incredibly busy office, so my last day will be October 13.  A few days will be needed to pack the car, and then we will spend the weekend in Green Bay at the wedding and taking in the Packer game.  (I will stop to interject this thought - the 12 noon NFL games broadcast in Wisconsin (CST) are at 9:00 a.m. in Juneau; plus, Green Bay is obviously not the regional game so we have to find a neighborhood watering hole that has the "NFL Ticket" if we want to see the Packer games!).  After Bill spends a week training in Chicago and I spend the week trying to hide stuff in the car so he won't see what I'm taking (how many pairs of shoes can I actually fit?), we will travel north to Eau Claire to see family, before heading off across Minnesota, North Dakota and beyond.  We will catch the "poor people's cruise" car ferry in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, on Friday, October 28, with our arrival in Juneau scheduled for 4:15 A.M. on October 30.  (Thanks to the NFL for giving the Packers an open date that day!)  So, it's done.  After years of talking, months of praying and a few weeks of planning, we will be off to sunny Juneau.  At least, it will feel like heaven to me!!