Getting Ready

Tonight I ordered Chinese food for dinner since I spent the afternoon giving away or throwing away all of the food in our house. After devouring more than my fair share of Kung Pao Shrimp, I forgot about the fortune cookie and almost threw it away when I realized I was giving up a perfectly guilt-free 10 calorie dessert. So of course I ate it and was so encouraged by my fortune....."Everywhere you choose to go, friendly faces will greet you" This was especially significant because I have had a hard time walking away from friendly faces this week. Some I saw knowing it would be a good long while before I see them again and some I know I will see again in a few short days - but knowing that my time is growing short is definitely taking its toll. I know, I know, there is email and phone and even that short 9 hour and 35 minute plane ride. But there is something about sitting across the kitchen table from someone that you just can't quite replace.

On a more positive note, I am SO excited to leave on Friday. This week is going to be a little hellacious - work is crazy, I have packers/movers coming Tuesday and Wednesday, I'm supposed to sleep starve myself Thursday night so I will be nice and tired for the plane ride on Friday......but at the end of all that I know there will be at least one friendly face to greet me....and that will make it all worth while. :)

Getting Settled

This afternoon I was talking to Steve catching up on some stuff and suddenly it got really echo-y and I couldn't hear him very well. I asked what happened only to have him tell me that he had walked into our living room! How sad is that?! It is so empty in there! It must be really big though because the echo was LOUD!

Other than being a little lonely in a completely empty house, he seems to be doing well. He was able to buy a bed yesterday so he didn't even have to spend a single night on an air mattress! Another contractor, Joe, went with him to the post to get the bed and used his truck to help move it. Thank you Joe! He also said that Chris, our landlord, left him a few glasses and dishes so that he at least has something he can eat a sandwich off of. Thanks Chris! It's comforting to know that there are nice people that are willing to help us out......

I sold my car yesterday - the last major item that needed to be dealt with. So, I'm driving the truck which I'm sure is a little - um - entertaining for the poor folks sharing the road with me. That thing is a monster! I miss my Jetta already.

Steve Left Today

Steve left today. I dropped him off about 1:00 and by now he is hopefully sleeping soundly in business class somehwere over the Atlantic. He should arrive around 1:00am Central Time. It will be 8:00am in Germany. It was a little surreal leaving him at the airport today. It felt like I was just dropping him off for one of his usual 2-week stints over there......and I guess technically, I will be seeing him in a couple of short weeks. The weird part is that I will be going there instead of him coming back home. The even weirder part is that he won't be coming back to our house - or the U.S. for quite some time. Everything he needed to do had to be done by the time he left today - because he won't have a chance to come back and take care of it. We didn't get a chance to go say goodbye to the neighbor kids and that made me really sad. They ADORE Steve. :( We have wondered aloud if they will still think we're cool when we come back and they are two years older. There is still alot to do before I leave - which should be the 29th. The movers will come on the 26th and there is still some prep work to do before they get here. There other night I went to bed with a feeling unlike any I have experienced in many years. It was the kind of excitement that can only be described as a kid on Christmas Eve. I couldn't even close my eyes - I was so excited to think of the surprises that are in store for us. I can't wait to wake up and open my eyes in our little house in the little town that we will call home for the next few years. I'm anticipating a slower pace - more simplicity (however complicated by language and cultural barriers). I'm expecting a huge learning curve, but one with which I hope I will be patient and open-minded.