In order for our stuff to arrive, we had to say goodbye to our rental furniture. Bye bye! Now the house is completely empty the day before all of our belongings come, so off we went to explore yet another London landmark: Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. At first, the boys were excited to see all their favorite characters, but once we got their, they only wanted to see the Star Wars exhibit which was at the end of the tour. They didn't really know a whole lot of figures since they are not familiar with the current media. They knew some historical figures, most superhero's and sport athletes. I thought it was pretty cool to see real life wax figures real close up. It was like meeting famous figures but not being able to talk to them.
The Big Day has arrived. The semi truck pulled in at 10am and we were all set to welcome all our boxes and furniture. There were three guys doing the whole move. One in the truck and two taking the boxes into the house and placing them where we guide them to. Talk about HARD work! I can't imagine having to work like this. Moving heavy boxes up and down the stairs for a whole day and then do it all over again the next day isn't easy. I tried to keep the boys out of the way so the guys can do their job, but the boys were so excited with each box that came into their room that they were getting in the way. There were a few items that was not going up the stairs since it was too big. Solution: call a handyman and have them remove the second floor window and get the items through the window. Now, we'll have to remember to do the same when we move out from our place. We quickly realized just how much we brought to London. After living a simple, clutter-free life for 6 weeks, I came to the conclusion that we can live without 80% of the stuff we packed for London. I wish I knew this before all the stuff was packed and we had it shipped here.
So, now, we will have to do many donation runs. They hardest part of unpacking is where do we put all of our stuff. The next day, two of the movers came back to help us unpack the boxes. We were able to unpack 70% of the boxes. I'm so glad they came or we would have taken forever to unpack. We spent the weekend sorting through our things and I didn't hesitate to either throw or donate things I didn't need or have space for it. Like I said, I want to start living a clutter-free life. Less is more!
I took a break from unpacking, and took the boys to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. I've been wanting to take the boys for a long time but never got around to it. The other reason for not going is, we have to leave early from home to get a good place to stand and the boys have been waking up much later than usual. For some reason, all three woke up really early so I decided it would be a great day to go. We waited for 1 1/2 hour to see the show. The boys were well behaved and stayed excited throughout our wait. We had front row viewing at one of the two gates. Because of where we were standing, we only saw the ending of the show when the guards are leaving the palace through the gate we standing near. Since this was our first time, I had no idea where to stand. Next time, we should have better viewing.
The boys finally did some day camps, tennis and golf. They had so much fun doing sports and being around other kids their age. I think they miss not having any friends. But, for me, it was very hard to leave them and come home to an empty home. Ever since we moved to London, I have never been home alone. The boys and I have been together on this journey for the last two months together. And here I am all alone at home. I wanted this moment for a while and now, I didn't know what to do. What I realized at that moment was, it was because of my boys that I have been enjoying living in London for the past two months. They have given me the strength to move forward and take on this new challenge. They have been with me every moment of the way. They were with me when I went to the grocery store for the first time, they were with me when I went on the bus and train for the first time. Every new experience I have done for the past two months, they have been with me. They are the reason why I'm enjoying life here.
