ARE WE THERE YET?

I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. Today I’m sitting in a fancy-smancy lounge at the airport, waiting for our flight to be called. Now is as good a time as any to be reflecting over the blur of my life during the last 24 hours. Last night we had our final big send ARE off. All my brothers and sisters were there, family, close friends. I guess I’m all cried out. This may sound morbid…but farewells are so hard. To me this seemed like what my funeral would be like. All of us hugging and crying. Death is a separation of body and soul. So separating me from my family is kinda like dying a little. Don’t get me wrong…it takes my oldest brother, Howard, to interject the fact that …”we may never see each other again, many of us are old, sickly…etc.” Hey, the world could end tomorrow…might as well try and enjoy today. I still hear John’s voice saying, “Don’t be mad at me for taking Marsha away…”
Look at it this way, now you all have some place exciting to come to. IIINNNNDDDDDIIIIIIAAAAAA.

I’ve spent 19 years at the courthouse, and as thrilled as I am about not having to “work” anymore, I’m gonna miss all of these people, my work family. Kelly Jo and the girls…Whhhhaaa…..why is Johnnie taking me half way around the world….wwwhhhhyyyyyyyy. Okay, Joyce, as soon as you email me the pictures from work, I’m gonna post them. Tell Christina to email me Julie’s birthday picture with the sombrero and whip cream and I’ll post that too. Ha.

One more hour and we can board the plane. Lilly is mad at being locked in the crate. John is being obnoxious to the kids. We are just one big happy family waiting to bust a move into Chennai. Look out world…Believe it or not, Bri has not started her “are we there yet” kick. Here’s to our first day away from home. I never realized how bonded I was to that little bit of land or all of these people.

IT'S GOTTA GET BETTER

It's 3:00 a.m. and I can't sleep...imagine that. Well, I'm up so I might as well blog. After three days of moving, the house should be empty today. We've got the flight booked, Baldwin Shuttle will get us to the airport next Friday. I keep roaming through the house. I forgot to move my pile of dirty laundry to take to the cleaners...well when I wasn't looking they packed it. I wanted to leave a bunch of mugs and stuff in the kitchen...well, I turned my back and they packed it...so much for John taking care of things while I was gone. (It's so much easier to blame him, ha). I guess you get the drift, the list could go on. At least John got rid of the garbage bags before that was loaded as well. A week ago we had dinner with his boss, and lo and behold, he gave us that admonition. Yeah, his garbage was packed and shipped for his overseas assignment as well.

But truthfully, I haven't had the mental ability to focus on detail. I still feel like I'm in shock, just moving on autopilot. We are taking Lilly, our dog. Found out yesterday there is another hoop to jump through to get her through customs. Well, I called the Indian embassy, waited on the phone about five minutes. Then the automated service disconnected the call, stating there was no one available to talk to me. This was around 3:00 p.m. Geez, Louise. I guess it was the wrong time of day for service. I'm hoping I won't have to make a mad dash to Chicago to procure this "no objection certificate". No, we are not having fun yet.

My daughter Bri's last day of school was today. Thought I would have to drag her from the building screaming and kicking, wailing in grief. (Her melt down occurred last week, and she went to talk to a counselor there). Her teacher did throw a party for her, and I have decided to let her blog and get email from her fellow students, really magnanimous of me. You just can't be too careful with kids on the internet. (I won't go into detail today with my older daughter's unfortunate escapades on line.) Anywy, I see now I've got to edit Bri's blog. Why do I feel like an abject failure? Her "expressions of creativity" leave me picking up my jaw off of the floor. Where does a little 5th grader get all of this stuff. Yeah, we've got our work cut out for us. I'll hook her blog up to mine once I figure out how to do this stuff.

All this dust settling throughout the house has me sneezing my head off. I can't breathe. My air purifier is packed and gone. I guess it will be time to bust a move to a hotel soon. John wants to do a whirlwind tour to say goodbye to kinfolk in Kentucky this weekend. Happy Easter, goodbye. Well I wanted to whiz down to Mississippi and Tennessee as well to get a hug from my elderly aunts and uncles, but I guess that is more than he can handle. Guess Ma Bell is the next best thing for me. Truthfully, I don't think I can take a great emotional blast anyway...just keep it quick and clean. Gotta watch my stress levels. Heaven knows I don't want John's blood pressure getting any higher. Yeah, it's gotta get better...and it will.

A WEEKEND OF LASTS...

I'm laying here in my bed, staring out the window. I guess today is my weekend of lasts...Monday the movers come to take everything away. So, this is my last weekend of sleeping in this bed, in this bedroom, in this cute little log cabin in the woods...

John poured out his heart building this home for us. My Dad cut the road through a steep hill, dug the basement, cleared the lot. I never saw myself leaving here, yet life -- as we all know -- is full of surprises...but India???

Walking away from your "world" can be so scary. So much love and memories are in these four walls. I guess the bottom line though, home is where ever John is...and the girls too. And really, I won't miss the freezing winters and snow.

So there. Have I convinced you yet that I'm gonna be fine? Maybe if I say it enough, I'll convince myself too.