The Big Decision

Living in Bridgton, Maine, has it's ups and downs, as can most people who live here contest to. It's set beautifully surrounded by lakes, mountains and the woods, which creates ample opportunity for recreation and fun. But things have not been so great in the job world here, and after much trials and frustration, we knew we needed to make a change. But where do we go from here? As anyone who is married to someone from another country probably can imagine, the idea of moving to that other country comes up now and then in conversations. I was hesitant, since moving home would mean a lot to learn and figure out. I have never lived on my own in Sweden, and even though I know some things about the benefits of living there, I had no idea if any of it would apply to us. We have, after all, lived, worked, married and given birth over here. Last time it came up was last year, in the spring. But after calling the embassy in NY, I was so overwhelmed and put off, that I didn't want to anymore. It probably didn't help that I was a mother to a new baby again, and lots of other things were taking up my time and energy. My older daughter had found her way at her new preschool, she loved taking skating and dance lessons, and I found myself having lots of fun setting up play dates and socializing with the mothers in town.
This year it was different. We started by talking to my father and his wife, who were here for a few weeks in the summer. And then we decided that we would just apply for a visa for my husband, which was supposed to take 6-8 months. And we thought we would spend that time figuring out what to do with everything, like the house and the stuff we have. It took 3 weeks!!! No idea how we got it so quickly, but most likely the person at the consulate in Boston put in a good word for us, and made sure that things moved along at a more reasonable pace. So now we had to get going on everything else, like putting the house up for sale, and figure out what to do with everything else. Not to mention where to stay when we got there. September came along, and my mother came. She works for the social services office, and knows a lot of information about things like maternity leave, help with rent, etc. She told me that I have 180 days of parent care support, paid. Even if I had not worked in Sweden in a long time. It doesn't matter, it just means that my pay gets calculated at the lowest rate. But you can get paid 7 days a week, if you want. It's not much, but everything helps. Right?
After she left, my brother and his girlfriend came. And he told me he is moving in with his girlfriend, so why don't I just take his apartment for a temporary time? And we could have a lot of his old furniture, as well as some kitchen supplies and electronics.
So now we have an apartment, even if it's temporary. My brother has left us a tv, a dvd player, most of his kitchen stuff, including a microwave, a vacuum cleaner, and lots of other stuff as well. He also got out his old computer, and set it all up for Brian to use.
So, the house is on the market, the container is ordered, we have sold or donated most of our stuff that we are not bringing, and we have flight tickets. We are leaving in two weeks, and I'm finally getting excited!