Aliyah Diary: Part 1

Aliyah is HARD

Inhale… Exhale… Inhale… Exhale… Goosfrabaaaaa…

Wow, Aliyah is hard. We haven’t even left the US yet, but our Aliyah is already hard. It is getting really real now. Our lift comes next week, our flight leaves on July 7^th, our apartment is in shambles, and I think my sanity is going that way too. It’s not just me, the stress in our home is palpable! We are all emotional, high-strung, and easily snapping at the smallest things…

This week, our Aliyah became much more real. We started getting rid of some of our larger furniture and other smaller things in the apartment. I know that these things are just, well… things. But these were things that we never thought we would get rid of. We began selling, and getting rid of our belongings, the things that define important moments in our lives. We sold wedding gifts (that we were eventually going to use… I promise). We threw out the only two trophies I ever earned (yeah… I’ve never really been so good at sports, so they were kind of a big deal). We sold the beautiful cherry-colored break-front from our dining room, which we thought we would keep forever… The list goes on… We sold these sentimental things for way less than their sentimental worth… And that was really hard. I know that “things are just things” but it doesn’t make it any easier to get rid of them. In a weird way, I am mourning for them, I had/have a palpable sense of loss after they were gone. Maybe it is silly, but hey…

We started this selling spree off with a yard-sale on Sunday. As fun as it was to spend the day with my siblings selling our collective crap, it was heart-wrenching to watch people walk away with it… And for pennies on the dollar. There were moments where I needed to leave, and cry. People were haggling with me over the smallest prices, for my stuff. My sentimental, meaningful, and expensive stuff… It has been a stressful week.

We go to the embassy tomorrow to get our visas, and then in two weeks… off to the Holy Land!! Aliyah is hard, but we are still doing it, and it is exciting!!

Love you all!!