This Week

I have filled in three passport applications, including driving all over the place to get signatures from witnesses, guarantors and Mehran. Twice.

Attempted to be interviewed for said passports. Not once, not twice, but three times as the initial forms we were given were apparently incorrect.

Worked two full days, including planning lessons for the next five weeks and rearranging my schedule to accommodate Anisa's pace maker clinic at the hospital.

Taken the children for more transition visits at the new school and made multiple trips to a uniform shop over 45 kilometers away in a desperate quest to secure correctly sized and logoed (is that a word?) clothing.

Attended a professional development conference, tidied loose ends in the classroom, cut, copied and laminated nearly 300 keys, restructured my teaching timetable to accommodate an early morning drop-off at school for the girls, prepared lessons and gone to teach children's classes.

Finalized travel arrangements, including hotel accommodation in China, internal flights within the States, international drivers licences and a specialized GPS navigational system to help us once we land over seas.

Searched the web (religiously) for real estate, driven to numerous blocks of land and attended multiple open inspections all with kids in tow.

I have caught up with the laundry, vacuumed the floor, cleaned the car, made numerous appointments, calls and queries. All in addition to the hundred and ten things you do on a daily basis just to keep things running smoothly. There are days and weeks (like this one) when I feel very proud of my juggling act and the fact that I am able to keep so many balls zipping through the air, though-probably more often than not- I am keenly aware of a loud kersplat as one of the balls misses it's rotation and drops to the ground. Oh well, at least this week was highly productive.