Raise your glasses....

Breathe.... Breathe... and then breathe some more.

A lot of things are brewing up... and some are winding down. It's like a roller coaster, sometimes up and sometimes down, but exciting all the time.
That’s my state of mind right now.
I know I am speaking in circles!!
Breathe... breathe...
There was a question recently: "What are you looking forward to most this year" and I responded: "Change"
And I know, there is more to it than just the word: "Change"
Here it goes-
We are moving, and not just a blog address change, it’s a whole street, apartment, home, and even country change. Yes, ... we are moving out of US. After almost spending a decade here, we are moving. And I don’t know how else to tell you.. but We are moving. To the other side of the pond.
I came to US about 9 years ago with two bags, puppy eyes, big glasses and lots of excitement. I completed my masters with the bestest of friends. We rocked the two years, we burned the mid night oil and travelled in sunny CA. I was super excited at sending the first copy of my pay check home. I was even more proud when I filled my own tax returns. Simple joys! Living with my closest friends made the single-independent-girl-living a whole load of fun! I met the man who scooped me off my feet and very soon, we got married. I moved to his city and enjoyed the process. Met new friends, met my friends-his friends- our friends. We travelled and travelled and then travelled some more. Having my brother on speed dial here did make me miss India less. Life pretty much was work-fun and then some more fun. We along with our friends pretty much painted the town red. Good Times.
Two become three and we move once more. To another city and we three learned to love Chicago... even with the winters, I love this city. Our friends, our late nights, mid-day lunches, email chains, long gossips, girls night, conversations, trips, shopping sprees, V's school, her trips, her milestones, my blogging buddies, work, all of them.

It will be unfair to summarize my decade here.
I will miss it all, not the city(s), not the weather, not the trips, not the locations and not even my barista.

What I will miss are the people! My friends, my family who made my years here, the most formative, fun and full of excitement.

I might have come to US with two over-full bags, but I know when I leave US, I leave with a lot more.... may be more than two lifetimes of memories.

Raise your glasses tonight- To Change! And To new adventures... and look around you and thank all the wonderful people who make life fun no matter where you live.

And yes, today I introduce new Tags in my blog: 'Expat in London', 'Moving to London'