David and Quentin leave tonight for Kazakhstan. I think Quentin won't know what hit him. He's in for some major culture shock. Yesterday we argued about spending money on a new journal, when we already had a perfectly good one. We compromised by agreeing to let him journal on the laptop. I realized how his mindset is so "American" and materialistic; just spend some money and voila, there you go -- luxuries abound! I really try not to pull the "starving children in China" card, but having seen the starving children myself makes it a little less abstract and more real. I hope he comes away with more of an understanding of how fortunate and rich we are in this country.
Of course I'm a little concerned about the situation in London. They are just passing through this time, but will be spending the night there coming home August 6. Sometimes you just have to give up your worries ...
Another family who are going on the playground trip are writing articles for the newspaper where they live in Ohio ... the link is http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/ for another perspective on the trip. They are already there, visiting friends. Pat is the one who spearheaded the funding for this trip.
In the meantime, I will be at home raking out closets and getting this house in shape. I have finished the downstairs declutter mission, and have until August 1 to do the upstairs. Actually it feels kind of good to be rid of a lot of the detritus that has accumulated here over the past 8 years. And by the way, we have equalled our record of time lived in one place ... we were in Mississippi for 8 years. It looks like we will be here far longer, I hope. After last week in the pea soup humidity of Louisiana, I'm staying put in lovely North Carolina. Previous to that, I had lived in so many different places I've lost count. My peripatetic days are over, I hope!
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