Home is where the heart is and Singapore was where our heart has been the last three years. We made some great friends and had some absolutely memorable times. But like all things, this too was destined to change.
The husband spoke of a change of location, to the United States of America, for his career. After the initial resentment and anger, lots and lots of deliberations with friends and family, we finally decided to take the plunge. Then began the long journey to plan such a big move. We had not just ourselves to prepare, but also the children. My older one, who is almost 8, was totally against it. My 4 year old also followed suit. After a lot of convincing and dangling Disneyland and Universal Studios, we managed to at least get the constant disagreement to stop.
Then came the Herculean task of packing the home. What to ship and what not to !!! It is at such moments that we realize how much of unnecessary stuff we accumulate. Appalling !!! It was a back-breaking task but it finally did get all done.
I can't even thank my friends enough for all their help in the last few days, from making sure we had meals to eat and entertaining the kids. I feel bad at not being able to meet everyone and say my goodbyes in the last minute rush. Maybe there is another reason, (I would like to believe that), that we will meet again soon :)
Finally we were at Changi Airport. A beginning of another long tedious journey..... The long long flights with two children. First halt at Narita Airport and then a direct flight to Minneapolis. Thankfully the kids were well behaved and we also managed to get some sleep. Then came the shocker... A long queue at the immigration counter and we missed our connecting flight to our final destination, Bentonville, in Arkansas. A blessing in disguise, it was a well needed break for us. We were exhausted and the kids were more than us. We were impressed with the airline and airport staff for going out of their way to help us out and get us checked into a hotel for the night.
Finally, the next morning we flew into Bentonville via Atlanta. Bright sunshine greeted us. The vast expanse of this country amazed the kids and me. It was a different experience altogether for us to have strangers just stop and chat with us :)
A new country, a new home, a new life all over again. There are a multitude of challenges we need to overcome, but we are looking forward to it. Family and friends have rallied around to help us get settled. It's been two weeks now, we have had our moments when we have questioned our decision to leave the luxuries of Singapore to move here with the kids, but I am sure this country will treat us well. We will build a whole lot of new memories for ourselves and for the children.
Cheers to another new beginning for us :)
Cheers to another new beginning for us :)
