In due process

The go-around this summer is not nearly as frenetic as last year. One thing is we have a lot less stuff to pack up. I did go into the room in our house last night for a couple of hours where the last of our earthly possessions are stored. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to small things and clothes, even though I left at least half a dozen boxes of clothing in Botswana, most of which I cannot even remember. Word to the wise: don't be afraid to clean out your closets.

I needed to pick out a few key winter clothes, hats, shoes, and jackets. We've been warned by people from Wisconsin and Colorado it won't be as frigid as in New England, but still cold enough. I also found a pine-scented Yankee Candle that will remind us of home. Overall, after moving several items out of the room and then stacking them back in, it was a successful venture.

We have taken over different corners of Fred and Carol's house as we try to organize and pack. There are a few different to-do lists, two laptops, a master calendar, random piles of papers scattered around, and a mound of new sheets and towels to wash. They are completely gracious about it, but I wish things were a little more orderly.

We are having an eerie dejavu of the visa process in Botswana, but this time thanks to the US government. Before we enter Kuwait, we need to have our work permits in hand. The Kuwait embassy will issue those when we send them seven pieces of information. We have six ready to go, with the missing one spending the past three weeks at the US State Department. This guilty item is a police clearance letter which had to be "authenticated" at the state level followed by the national level. It should have been here by now. Had I known about courier services in DC, I would have obviously done that, but now that it is completely out of our hands, we rely on faith that this will indeed happen. Worse case scenario would be that the papers take a really long time to come back to us and we don't have the visa on August 23, in which case we change our flights. That in itself is not a bad thing, but we were hoping for as much time as possible in Kuwait to acclimate before school starts instead of having to race and catch up after the fact, which has been modus operandi for the past four months. Sigh.

So in this time of waiting, we are trying to enjoy the simple joys of summer: swimming, walking, relaxed conversations with people, fresh salads and fruit, grilled fish, warm sunshine and cool breezes. It's my most favorite time of year.