It's 19:23 Montana time, and I'm getting my 5 minutes of peace and wireless at the local Barnes and Noble / Starbucks Cafe. I'm still in shock that I've slept my last night at home in Issaquah and this uprooted feeling will continue for at least three more weeks during which time we will 1) fly to London, spend a day and night with my Mom and the kids, 2) fly to Cape Town 3) stay in temp housing courtesy of a collegue who owns a B&B, 4) take possession of our new home (I need to post the pictures. It's a great place) 5) I'll start my sorta new job 6) Susan will begin to sort out life with the kids in Africa. DAMN. Between now and then there are still details of money, movers, plane tickets, schedules, family visits.
ARRRRGH. Must fight feeling of complete meltdown. I haven't started bleeding from both ears yet, but I think that's step 7. For my friends reading this.. I wish I'd had more time to spend with all of you before leaving. I worked hard at planning the logistics of house & family, but gave less than adequate attention to all of you. Please forgive me. I'm also a bit like a cat (where does the quote originate?) in that I brush by and say goodbye the same for a day as for a year. We'll be back and hopefully you'll all still be here.
It's 1:07 a.m. on April 20 and I should be sleeping. Most of the sane people with day jobs in my time zone are long since nestled snug in their beds, just like the Christmas story says. Me, what's my problem? I've been packing the house and organizing our affairs. I just signed the lease for our house in South Africa. Susan and Isabella return tomorrow night and then just a few days later, I'll be taking both kids to visit my family in Montana. Then, on April 30, we depart for South Africa. It's amazing how much prep work and time have gone into this. In the meantime, I feel like I've been giving everyone less than I should. Actually, that's not completely true. I've been giving my kids lots of attention and I guess that's the most important thing I could do. Work here in Seattle and work in Cape Town are both suffering as I make this fumbling, slow progression from one to the other.
I haven't had the chance to see nearly as many of my friends and family as I'd like before leaving. This is a big deal, and it's just now sinking in. I managed to wedge my aunt and uncle in on Saturday (they've been like an extra set of grandparents to my children), between Susan's arrival from Illinois and my departure to Montana. My grandmother and extended family get 5 days and then... perhaps another visit in about a year from now. All this would be so much easier without children, but then, one reason we are leaping off this cliff is for them. I have to think Isabella at least will look back on this time with fond or at least useful memories some day. I'm lucky to be able to offer them an enriching world experience. Hopefully, if it goes well, it won't be the last. Who knows where we'll end up next. I'm not sure when broadband will arrive at our home in Cape Town (well, outside of Cape Town proper), but I know it will be expensive. Welcome to the land of monopoly and scarcity, rolled into one. Trouble is, like addicts of all types, I'll find a way to indulge my habit. I can't see living without high-speed net access anymore. On to the next indulgence: TV. The offering in South Africa is just abysmal, which is actually a good thing for us. Watching tv is often the accidental, default centerpiece of our evenings, for my wife, me, and the children. That will blissfully come to an end.
What am I looking forward to the most? For one thing, being a real software engineer again, after my hiatus as a manager and before that as a program manager. I'm tired of talking about things that I can just create and prove by my own hand. I'm also looking forward to getting outdoors more often. Cape Town affords so many opportunities for day hikes, diving, biking, etc. Seattle has all those things as well, but I've become immune to their call. The newness of everything in Africa (well, to me) will motivate me. At least, that's the working theory for now. Check back in a year or so, when I'm still fat and glued to this chair, just in the southern hemisphere. Enough for now. My next entry may be from Montana at this rate..