Sophia and I leave in 18 days.
One reason this particular season of travel is so daunting is because there have been so many other things going on and that keep on keepin' on. Clear right? We will get to our list in a moment.
Another reason the stress is a bit amplified is that we are traveling to Thailand first. On top of that, Sophia and I will leave four days ahead of time for our first time at Camp Buddy, a camp for kids like ours (ex-pats in SE Asia). We are SO excited about this! But it does pose some logistical conundrums for me to solve in order to make David's last four days smooth and his trip out the door with three littles smoother!
Add in hosting someone for 7-10 days for a very important part of our project here, hosting two birthday parties (upwards of 20 people probably attending), and homeschooling for another week and a half.
Let's make a list of things that are stressful, necessary, (and if I get my heart right) should be thoroughly enjoyed! (and David, by the way, has a different list, which includes some CRAZINESS, but won't be detailed here)
- pack for Thailand camp (mommy and Sophia)
- pack three other kids for Thailand and America, separate
- pack all carry-ons for kids
- make 2 meals for David's last 4 days
- get new shower installed (our glass door shattered with very minor injuries and the company forgot which brand we bought so we need a whole new one. Side note. We are at year 4 in this apartment, and that is about the shelf-life for interior renovations. Everything in our house seems to be needing minor repairs.
- host co-worker for 7-10 days (this means long days for David and tiring ones)
- David needs one more trip to our project site
- fix leaky faucet
- host Bella's party this Thursday night, inviting 5 from her class another 5 from the 'hood. Make cake, etc.
- host Sophia's party on the 24th (early, so she can have it with friends), make cake, etc.
- finish homeschooling and plan/pack all curriculum/papers/books needed for the States. We will mostly break from school but I will need to do about 4 weeks or so here and there.
- order things from Taobao that we still need (shaving cream for camp fight!)
- type up plans/schedule for our helper to do while we are away, what to clean, how to prevent mold, etc.
- I will be a high school girls counselor/study leader so this involves some preparation, planning, printing out, etc.
- I am also helping another lady do a little talk at another event in Thailand, this too will take some thinking through and writing up
- buy plastic to cover some shelves
- talk to all teachers one more time and clarify our plans for our returning one month late into next semester (pack all necessary books and Chinese reading books!)
- try to solidify our stateside schedule a little bit more
- get a nice family photo
There are MANY other things, minor and major details...but it will come together and all the while we must try to fit in watching EURO 2016. Watched France barely win today. Really hope to get some live action Albania v Switzerland in a moment.
