Ready to "Take Off"

Well, so far so good.  We got up @ 4:30, had everyone in the car by 5:15 and then Julie mandated that everyone get out of the car and make their beds.   Really?  We left after that.

This blogging thing is a little too easy - I will write a proper entry on the flight.  But again, thanks to everyone for getting us out the door.  I wonder how many stink bugs are crawling out of our bags right now to explore the plane's hull. 

Not Traveling Lightly....

800lbs - not including us, or our carry ons.  I have this notion that once we get there we can instantly off load of this stuff to the various recipients and we will be free to just walk around with some coins in our pockets; that life will be simpler there - that once we go through the shock of it all, that we will be profoundly happier, even free of our foibles and our besetting sins.  My head tells me that that is not going to happen, but my hearts hopes for such a place.

Two Days Before We Leave

The Christian fellowship expressed by all of you sends us off with a sensation of being loved and cared for.  The last of our things are finding their way into the nooks and crannies of our duffle bags and we are all breathing those shallow breaths that come with the excitement of such a big trip.    Saying goodbye - even just temporarily - always conjures that feeling of loss or the hint of loss - knowing that things don't stay the same, and that no one really knows what the future holds.  Our daily routine - that cocoon of control, predictability, and safety - is in for a major interruption, and I suppose we will all panic a little bit until we remind ourselves that it was never us who kepts things in order, rather it was our Lord and there is no reason to stop trusting now.