Whew

So I arrived home safely from Virginia, which I bet you assumed, tired but feeling good about my week of presenting. I'm not much of a self promoter, but I'm really good at what I do. Even though I'm not much to look at while I present, mentally I an stay on top of things. My years of parenting and being an adoption professional have prepared me well and given me really good insight when it comes to quick answers to tough questions. I'm in my element when people are throwing things out there -- tough things -- and I can usually come up with stuff that makes the heads of many in the room nod in agreement.

I also have a good sense of comedic timing -- so humor is throughout, sometimes very dry. A very quiet woman in the back of the room who had said nothing all day long and not laughed at all, came up to me later and said, dead panned, "I got every single one of your jokes." Reminds me of me -- someone who can be highly entertained all day long without notifying my face.

My guess that social workers read home studies while propped in front of the TV with cookies and chips watching the biggest loser made me laugh out loud... because about half the room looked like I had caught them red handed! The expressions on their faces. So funny.

Anyway, i got back home from Virginia on Thursday afternoon, had a quick nap, and then spent some time with family. Got up the next morning and left at 6:30 to spend my day listening to fascinating presentations (and I'm not kidding) from my class about interesting cases they are dealing with professionally and how the Adoption Competency course has impacted their work. I drove home to climb from my vehicles into my husbands who had already made sure the few kids that were home were fed and was ready to take me out to a nice dinner. The place we went to was gorgeous at night! I had been there for lunch, but never for dinner -- and it was transformed.. candlelight and really good food and time alone with the greatest guy on earth. Can't beat that for a homecoming.

He insisted that I did NOT need to work when we got home so we sat trying to stay up long enough for bedtime, but gave up and hit the sack about nine. Up at six and raring to go I have quite a day ahead.

In the next three days we have two kids to get completely packed and ready to leave Tuesday morning. That means a couple more shopping trips and a lot of work. We also have three going away parties to participate in, one for all of us and we are throwing one for Sadie and one for Tony -- Sadie for friends from school -- Tony mostly from friends from church.

LOTS to do the next few days.

On breaks from classes yesterday I was firing emails back and forth from the accountant to the mortgage banker and other places.... please pray that the underwriters will accept our documentation and approve the loan. We are supposed to close on June 1st -- that is less than a week away!

Moving truck gets packed June 11th.... and unpacked June 12th -- and we will be Robbbinsdale residents. Weird. It's going to go by fast!

Trying not to think about saying goodbye here..... holding back the tears and trying to focus on all the good times we've had instead of the fact that we are leaving.

As Gabriel García Márquez once said "No llores porque ya se terminó... sonríe, porque sucedió."