Mea Culpa

Forgive me family for I have sinned. It's been 50 days since my last blog. No, I didn't shake off the side of an island in some great earthquake or wash away in a great tsunami or even evaporate in a cloud of ash as a volcano spewed around me. My life is not that interesting and thank God my family and I were not affected.

That is not my excuse family.

I must claim over-worked, over-committed, and over-scheduled as my only defense. It feels as if the only moments I have taken out for myself were the mandatory 1-hour-a-week to watch "Project Runway" and the late night hours I would steal away to voraciously read the Hunger Games trilogy. No trips to Bali, no pedicures and massages, no parties, and absolutely NO R&R!

So here I am, at 9:05 p.m. waiting outside in a rockin’ reception room (listening to the Bangles sing “Eternal Flame”) as Rob bravely sits in the dentist’s chair. I just finished editing some papers and putting the finishing touches on my report cards when a great feeling of embarrassment and good ole Catholic guilt came over me. There’s so much to share…

Xavier’s 7th birthday celebration went off without a hitch. His favorite moment was blowing out the candles on a jungle-themed cake that the “Cake Boss” would be hard pressed to whip up in 24 hours (and for only $50);

Rob and Xavi went on a 3 day field trip with the 6th graders to a rural farm community where Xavier had the time of his life despite embarrassing his Papa by stockpiling bread at every meal;

My teaching partner and I took our grade 2 students on a field trip to a local orphanage after discussing how we are all responsible for creating a safe and happy environment for our community. Reliving my student’s generosity (of food, clothes, and toys) and the awe that they had when the realized the conditions that the orphans live in still chokes me up;

The inside of our palace, I mean house, was painted, the shipment arrived, and we (read: Rob) unpacked 68 boxes in 24 hours;

The school fair was remarkable, the likes of which we have not participated in since Kenya! The food was fabulous, the exhibitors were amazing, the games were fantastic, the entertainment was phenomenal (especially Anouk singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” on stage), and the weather was FREAKIN’ HOT!!!!!

I went on a walk through old Surabaya and learned about the old shipping port, the Dutch influence, the old architecture, inadevertantly participated in a Buddhist funeral, walked through the fish market, and rode in my first becak (like a rikshaw).
 
After writing a story about how he couldn’t hear, Xavier received a CT-Scan which led us to a diagnosis of: infected sinus’ and a treatment of: no icy cold drinks;

Anouk is having a rough go. She found out that her boyfriend’s family will be moving to Australia at the end of the year, the librarian won’t let her check out chapter books (we fixed this one), and Mele, the dog, loves Xavier more than her;

Halloween… enough said!

And... though we never got to see a game, the Giants won!

So despite the fact that I’m exhausted and sitting at the dentist’s office at a 9:30 p.m., things feel like their starting to settle down a bit. I’ve got my driver’s license in hand and actually know where I’m going when I zoom around the city. We have hired a nanny to keep watch on the kids (and the house lady who lets the kids walk all over her) and are finding a groove.

I promise things will be better and the next message will be about some great adventure.

I am off to start on my 30 Hail Mary’s now!