Going Away Parties

In July we moved out of our house in the desert,

 and welcomed our renters, an adorable couple, an observant Rabbi and Mrs. We rented our house furnished, but removed all of our personal items. Every closet, drawer and cupboard. Every cross, saint and Virgin Mary that was removable. So now our kitchen is kosher, and our house is blessed by weekly Shabbat.

Virgen of Guadalupe, Jewish mom extraordinaire

We are getting there, t minus 13 days...

Two going away parties down, two to go.

The six of us and all of our stuff and all of Babette's stuff crammed into her two-bedroom townhome. The definition of a generous mother-in-law! She has moved out so we can invade her home, mess it up beyond belief, not pay rent and complain about how crowded we are...

Here's the deal, Mike, the boys and I are moving to Crowthorne, England for two years. He is transferring within his company, and will have as his territory the UK, Ireland, Israel and Southern Africa, traveling 30% of the time. We contemplated homeschooling the boys in order to be free to travel with him, but have decided to enroll them in the local public school. I hope it will help them transition and make friends. They are both very social, as am I, and I don't want any of us to get depressed due to lack of friends...ahem...
But for now, it is the last of Tucson chaos.
I need to figure out the shipping of our worldy goods, mostly clothes, mostly things we never wear, across the ocean. It is quite confusing. Homeland security apparently forbids the shipping of old clothes by freight, and requires shipping via air which is muy muy expensive.
Secondly, I have got to get all of our finances and bill paying to happen online. A challenge to my mind that is easily bored.

Lastly and most important, we have to get our big kids settled in their dorm/appt. I have cried off and on all spring summer at the thought of leaving Anna in Tucson, at the UA, for her freshman year. She is moving in with her cousin Catie. Fun will be had by all. William will attend Pima and do his William thing. This includes painting, drawing, writing books, poems, screenplays, and writing and playing music to name a few.

I love my children, I love being with them, all of them, together. Leaving half of them behind feels unnatural. But their lives are here in Tucson for now.

God bless me, please don't let me frighten them with my sadness about leaving. Bless us all while we are apart, let your will be done in all of our lives. Thank you for my precious children.