Surprise!

Eugenio Recuenco

My brother and I used to play a game where we'd say, "Open your mouth and close your eyes and you will get a big surprise!" About 50% of the time, you'd get something sweet. This was to gain trust. The other 50% of the time? We'd try to get the other one to eat something like....Salt. I fell victim to my brother more times than I'd like to admit.

So, when my husband came home and told me to "Close your eyes and hold out your hands," I really didn't want to. But, the peas were in on it, so I played along. The result? I'm typing on it. There was just no way this family could operate without a computer until who knows when. So with laptop in hand, I'll be able to stay in touch until our stuff arrives in Amman. (don't worry, the contest to see when my stuff will arrive lives on!)

I've been popping onto everyone else's computer and I've enjoyed escaping to your worlds while trying to avoid mine. 5 days of a pack-out. The one thing I forgot to pack for Amman? My Bible. Christian woman travels to Muslim country with no Bible. Idiot. No fear, I've bought a new one for my suitcase. All in all, we're only bring about 3,500 lbs worth of stuff with us. Really. That was everything from my house I really wanted. The other 13,500 lbs of our accumulated belongings are now in storage.

The house finally rented Monday - after 3 failed contracts. After the amount of work it has taken to empty and clean it, I'm ready for someone else to look after it for awhile. 

Our truck just sold today. My neighbor's daughter will now be driving "JET BLACK. Finest truck in all the land." Now I'm wondering how I'm going to get the 4 little girls I promised to take to get their nails painted and to Noodles for lunch with no car. Definitely not thinking straight.

In between lots of good-bye parties where we stuff ourselves with foods we're worried we'll miss, and sleepovers and swim dates galore, we're trying to get our 10 suitcases consolidated into 8. Each one is being carefully weighed to try to stay under 50 pounds. We leave in just 2 days. Of course, we tried calling today to confirm children's meals and ..... we've been bumped off the flight. Lots of phone calls and hold time later... nothing is resolved. We'll take up the battle in the AM. Ever feel like maybe something was not meant to be? I'm trying to tell myself that sometimes the hard stuff reaps the greatest rewards.

So, I'm back online - somewhat. I'll let you know when (if?) we make it to Amman!