One month to go...

In exactly one month, I’ll be departing for London. WOW! For the last year, the time leading up to this adventure has been stretching comfortably into the distance. “I don’t have to do ____ right now, there’s plenty of time left.” Such an internal dialogue is no longer valid. What I dislike absolutely the most about traveling is the stressful period immediately preceding departure, when you just know you’re forgetting something vital and it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep because you’re going over logistical details endlessly. At least that’s how I prepare for trips.

That unpleasant period is about to begin with respect to the London trip, with the additional stressors of:

1. preparations for teaching two classes
2. worries over what could go wrong with 23 students’ logistics
3. planning for actually LIVING in a strange place, not just visiting for a few weeks

Yikes! All things considered, though, I’m certainly glad we’re going and that the big day is so close. I thought I’d take this opportunity to explain about the picture at the top of the blog, since you might wonder where I got it. It’s a scan of a postcard my Dad sent my Mom from England when he was stationed there during the War and is one of my favorites of the many cards he sent to her and to his mother. (You may see all of them, with lots of photos and other WWII and family memorabilia, and can also read Dad’s Journal, on my website.) Appropriately enough, today is Mom’s birthday, and I have to thank her again for, among many other things, saving all of Dad’s photos, papers, and letters, as well as the Journal itself.

If she were still with us today, I’d be wishing her a happy 86^th birthday, and I’m sure she would be excited for me as I embark upon my London journey. Love you, Mom! and I miss you.