Kicking Into High Gear

For the past few weeks, I've had my To Do List structured into a few different categories. To Do this week, To Do this month, and To Do before we leave. It occurred to me just this evening that it is time to consolidate my first two lists, as this month ends on Tuesday. Once I did that, I got straight to work. Luckily, I also heard from a few key people at the end of the week. Things are beginning to roll.

I won't bore you with the details, but we now have all of our flights booked as well as reservations made for rental cars and hotels along the way. Lilly will go to the local public school, and Sophia is set up with an amazing preschool called Discovery Woods. I can't express how happy I am with this school. They run a Reggio Emilia program remarkably similar to The Wonder Center, where Lilly went to school in Shanghai. I love Reggio, I loved The Wonder Center, and I'm really excited about this program. Poor Sophia has not landed so well in Shenzhen, falling into the wrong classroom mix of kids with a sub-par teacher. She needs a nurturing environment with teachers paying individual attention to the academic and social needs of each of the children. I'm convinced that she will get just that at Discovery Woods, and have an awful lot of fun besides. Should we still stay in D.C. this fall, she will continue on there for preschool. I hope we stay - I would love to see her in this environment for as long as possible. Dave hopes we go - it is a shock to have to pay for preschool, especially at such a pricey place as this.

The To Do list is still long - insurance, dates, selling, packing, and loads of other tiny bits and pieces which now need to come together at once. My parents arrive on Tuesday night, which will make the work load much easier - especially with Dave spending these last few weeks in Manila.

And one last tidbit, to make you feel better about yourself: Not only did I lose my wallet about one month ago - to the tune of a couple hundred dollars, access to our account in Shanghai, and 2 of our 3 credit cards. Not only that. But last night, I left another wallet in a taxi. This one held five crisp $100 bills, and 4 passports. Thankfully, the passports were returned before I even knew they were missing. But the taxi driver helped himself to a $500 tip for his efforts.

It'll be an expensive few months, and my spaciness isn't helping very much.