Reality?

These past few weeks it has become increasingly apparent that I have approximately a 15% grip on reality. Maybe that's not the right way of looking at it - I have a 15% grip on where reality is leading. It's like I can see it coming but can't place myself in it. Every now and then, Gary and I look at each other and exclaim, "We're moving to Africa!" like it's a new revelation.

Even the last day of school (insert happy dance!) - said goodbye to kids, hugs, warm wishes, etc. and then a few hours later, I'm standing at the front of my empty classroom staring at the empty stools sitting on the floor - realize I should have told my last class to put them on the tables before they left. And it hits me - one of those heart-in-your-throat moments... that was it - no more school. The next students I see will be in Uganda, holy cow!! But really? It took me hours to settle into my present reality of summer. 

But I feel pretty blessed to have a lot of people around me to bring me back to reality. For example, some very incredible coworkers gave me the surprise of my life - nothing like expecting a quiet evening of conversation and walking into a celebration with all your favorite people. I really need to ask Britt for the picture she got of me walking in - the months of careful planning of some very special people definitely got the desired effect - I was speechless (and about to hit the floor from shock) and incredibly humbled by the show of support from so many people that I respect and admire so much.

I think that's the biggest lesson Gary and I are learning through this whole off-to-Uganda process. We are learning that God has a purpose, and He will knit together the people and means to accomplish just that - we are a piece of the puzzle, but it's one of those 10,000 piece ridiculous puzzles, not one of those wimpy wooden preschool puzzles, haha :-)  Probably the most tangible way for us to see that right now is through support-raising. When we started, we were told it would take 6-9 months to raise everything - for two very financially cautious folks, that was not cool, particularly since we had only 3 months to do it all from the time we got official acceptance & approval with EMI and Heritage until we are to leave. But here we are, half-way through it, and we are over 80% to our goal. I mean, really? That is DEFINITELY not us. And I have to say - knowing with 100% certainty that you are in sync with God's plan - not just for our lives but the whole nine yards - that is an awesome place to be. I don't think He could make it much more obvious unless He wants to start literally flinging open doors, haha :-)  We are so thankful to have so many people working together to spread His love!

Other piece of the puzzle that we are very excited is in place - we have a tenant for our condo!! This is a big one as there is no way we would be able to sell this cute little place without losing ridiculous sums of money, and incidentally, it's hard to pay a mortgage when you don't have a paycheck. So on July 8th, our hopefully very clean and courteous tenants will move in, and we will take up residence in my father's basement. Have we mentioned that it's great to have supportive parents? Because it really is!

And so as I contemplate getting my butt moving and going for a run, a few random thoughts:

• I really need to go to bed before midnight someday.
• I am SO thankful for my sweet students this year. If I was ever down or overwhelmed, they would walk in the room and actually make it better - that is a huge blessing. I really will miss them... 
• Taco salad is basically the best food ever.
• Spaghetti squash is a close second.
• Okay, maybe the peach frozen yogurt from Yogli Mogli trumps them all. Too bad they stink and got rid of it!!  :-P  
• How does one clean vegetables in a foreign country if one wants to eat them raw? Feeling a little nervous about using bleach water as recommended - isn't there some other way?
• Hoping that Gary can leave work early today and rescue me from boredom. Not the I-have-nothing-to-do type of boredom. Just the if-I-spend-one-more-second-looking-at-that-physics-book-I'm-going-to-throw-things type of boredom.
• Why must everything I hear have some correlation to a quote from Finding Nemo? 
• Sad that NASA didn't pick us for tickets to the shuttle launch, but thankful that although my mom had to move away, at least she moved close enough to see such things. Very much hoping it happens on schedule so we can take in just a little bit of that history-in-the-making.
• I miss the cat... He's been staying with his grand-folks since we got the carpet cleaned for obvious reasons to anyone that has ever owned a spiteful cat. Unfortunately, when he sees us now, he associates us with a car ride and gives us major attitude. But I still miss him! It must be bad - I saw a young cat with exactly the same color fur as my hair lounging by the dumpster at the travel clinic, and I seriously stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the road debating whether or not to grab him and bring him home... A concern for the continued health of my marriage set me back to walking to my car.
• My yellow-fever-shot-arm is unhappy. Hopefully I won't get the fever to go with it in a few days - dumb live vaccines...
• So thankful for good friends! We've had the pleasure of getting to connect and reconnect with some wonderful people in our lives as we prepare to head out - makes it a little harder to go, but thank goodness for email and Skype! Especially for sweet baby Liam, our newest friend :-)
• And lastly - my string cheese wrapper said that the cat's IQ is only exceeded by that of chimps and humans. That can't possibly be true.