We did it

30 weeks ago, while we were at Web Summit in Lisbon, we sat in a cute cafe and cheers over a bottle of Vinho Verde. We make a goal that we'd move to Portugal by Shayne's 50th birthday.

I remember the rush of blood in my head as we clinked our glasses, how it still felt so unreal. It was a bit cold out, not like it would be in July so it felt so very far away. In reality, it was just a blip in time.

Since then, we've relocated back to Seattle to settle our stateside lives amongst friends and places we know well. We started a business and began to shed most of our possessions.

About an hour ago, the email came through. I assumed I'd be the one getting the first glance but Shayne said 'check your email' in a tone I've never heard.

That's when the tears started. I felt this weight lifted off of my body, sadness, excitement, uncertainty. So many feelings in the space of about three minutes. Now, 15 minutes later I need a nap, but there's no time for that.

We've still got a lot of furniture to get rid of, plans to make - it'll keep me going for sure but WOW. I cannot say there's ever been anything in my life that had so much build up.

Often on the facebook groups for expats everyone shows their timeline of how they got to the approval, so in that tradition, here it is. Maybe I will go take that nap, after looking at what we've done so far no wonder I'm a bit worn out.

The timeline from November 2021 to May 2022

Action	Date
Decided we'd move by Shayne's 50th	November 2
Jenn got NIF	November 8
Started Company	December 29
Started working with visa ladies	January 3
Shayne got NIF	January 14
FBI fingerprints	February 11
Received FBI report	February 20
Opened bank account in Portugal	February 28
Funded bank account	March 22
Signed lease	March 23
Purchased health insurance	April 1
Pulled bank statements	April 1
SF VFS Appointment	April 7
Forwarded to embassy	April 8
Received Visa approval	May 31