The Storage Unit Jigsaw Puzzle . . .

2 weeks to go and the mad rush to get everything done is in full swing.  We've just spent the weekend making trips between our house and the storage unit we have hired, about a 40km round trip.  Up and down the motorway too many times to count.  But what a fabulous place . . . 3 stories high with white corridors that just seem endless, broken only by padlocked doors every few metres.  My good friend Mariana likened it to a modern prison.  PPP - Possession Protection Prison.  Taashi and Tilly loved it!  They spent the day racing trolleys up and down the lift and winding their way through the corridors.  As a result of good family team work our house is pretty much a ghost house furniture wise.  We're all sleeping on mattrasses on the floor (which the girls think is soooo much fun - it's like camping in your bedroom!).  There is no furniture left upstairs and just the essentials downstairs - TV, couches, table and chairs and the BBQ!  We managed to piece the storage unit jigsaw puzzle together really well - on our second attempt - and our fingers are crossed that all will fit in.  Otherwise everything is starting to fall into place now.  It's always the last minute things that catch you unawares but as the girls remind us every morning how many sleeps we have to go I don't think we are at risk of running out of time . . .

How time flies . . .

4 years ago when we moved from Melbourne to New Zealand we started talking about this trip.  1 year ago we decided to ‘just do it’ and 100 days ago we thought we had better start preparing (which of course meant lots and lots of lists).

Now with only 25 sleeps until we hop onto our first of many planes and head off into the big wide world of adventure, slight panic has started to set in.

What do we still have to do?

Will the house be rented in time?

Will we sell the car?

What do we pack for over a years travelling?

Where can we find MORE boxes?

What have we forgotten?

Doctors?

Dentist?

Wills?

Insurance?

Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Of course all the girls are worried about is “How many more sleeps until we go?”

We should introduce or reintroduce ourselves before we go any further.

We are the Sheers Family –

• Dad Glenn – a Primary School Teacher
• Mum Laurinda – has her own fashion label ‘Mataashi’ which she designs, makes and sells at local markets and online
• Taashi 11yrs old – a Year 7 student at Orewa College
• Matilda (Tilly)  8yrs old – a Year 4 student at Orewa North School

You will find us at home in the beach side town of Orewa (pop.7000) on the stunning Hibiscus Coast in New Zealand, where we live 50m from the bush, 250m from the beach and a short 10min stroll into town. 

We love living in Orewa – life doesn’t get much better really. 

It was a big decision to leave our settled life here and head off on a 14mth Family OE around the world.  It was also a really easy decision to make.  The timing was perfect with the girls schooling and we can both come back to our jobs relatively easily.

Now we just have to be organised and ready with every ‘T’ crossed and ‘I’ dotted in 25 sleeps . . .