This is getting serious

There are no more "days" left in the countdown; just hours.

Yikes.

So it's 10:30 on a Wednesday night. I just finished a paper and e-mailed it to my professor, and now am debating whether or not I want to balance my checkbook after all the money spent these last few days (scary). Franco has been working on newsletter articles and blog posts most of the day (I promise he's going to write for this one too), and now is in his office playing Minecraft, I'm assuming, because I hear bleating sheep. (If you're confused, it's OK.)

Just another Wednesday night. Except ... wait. What's that large pile of clean laundry on the bed begging to be put into a suitcase? And this "to do" list with a few too many "to do's" left?

I'll say it again. Yikes.

Don't get me wrong: we're totally, absolutely, completely looking forward to this adventure. The getting ready part can be a tad overwhelming, though. I wish I was the type of person who could just throw a few things in a bag and jet off, but I'm not. I buy way too much stuff in an effort to be better prepared. And then second-guess all of those purchases. I make lists of all the little household chores I wish we'd get done before we leave. ("Re-caulk the tub" is still on there. I'm having a hard time letting that one go.) I'm worried about the damn cats.

But, worries aside, 24 hours from now we'll be on the Detroit to Amsterdam leg of the flight, jittery in our plane seats out of a bit of discomfort and a lot of excitement. Because the bottom line is, whether or not the tub gets caulked and whether or not I packed the right clothes, this is sure to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Thanks for all of the well-wishes. We'll do our best to find Internet access and keep this up-to-date!