India

I hardly know where to begin. So much has happened already; so many new experiences thrown our way all at once.

We’ve gone from pure exhaustion and chaos to a semblance of schedule during the past week.

First lesson of the trip: red eye flights are a bad idea with preschoolers. This is especially true when one of those preschoolers is not quite two, getting into the tantrum phase, and likes to stretch out and roll around when he sleeps. Little sleep was had.

We arrived to a rainy Frankfurt at noon Germany time and headed to our very nice hotel. After a short nap we ventured into the drizzle to find dinner. Since the kids were tired and unpredictable we settled on an outdoor burger joint very close to the hotel. Johnny tried a curry Frankfurt and the boys had cheeseburgers.

The flight to Delhi was much, much better. Both boys napped and remained very cheerful the whole flight. We experienced the oft-warned fact that Indians will come up and touch our children without asking. I expected hugs and maybe head pats. Oh no…we’re talking touching the face with both hands, picking them up, and actually kissing them. It takes a lot of getting used to.

We met our expeditor who took us through customs, helped get our bags, and introduced us to our social host, Satish, who took us to our new home. We arrived at 3 a.m. and finally got the boys to sleep around 5 a.m.

Satish took us to the embassy later that morning to have lunch, look around, and hit up the commissary. Satish and his family are Christians! We plan to visit their church either this Sunday or next.

Monday we went to the Embassy with John to get my ID badge and we got our first look at New Delhi traffic. Wow. “Lanes” are way less than a suggestion. Indians squeeze four cars where we would drive two. Tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and bicycles weighed down by two adults and 4 or more small children weave in and out of traffic without a second thought. Turn signals are replaced by honks while busses barrel through roundabouts. Right of way belongs to those with the best reflexes and loudest horns. One-way streets exist only in name.

Crossing the street as a pedestrian would probably get you arrested for attempted suicide in the U.S. My method is to timidly latch on behind a group of locals and pray I get to see the other side. So far I remain intact.

My trip to Haiti helped ease me into the feeling of perpetual stares, curious eyes taking in white skin, fair hair, and blue eyes. Still, no amount of preparation can steel you for hundreds of people stopping in their tracks to take in a young, female foreigner with her beautiful fair-featured babies. Americans have the good sense to look away when you catch them staring; Indians will hold eye contact indefinitely. Thus far we three light eye/light hairs have not ventured out without male escort. We don’t have any plans to do otherwise.

Next post:taxi drivers, markets, and hiring staff.

Hotel Living

We are still in D.C. in case you hadn't heard. We did not get our visas in time and had to wait and reschedule our flight. We received our visas on Thursday evening and our flight is scheduled for Wednesday night. 4 days to go.

We also had to move to the Embassy Suites in Arlington because the Doubletree didn't have any more vacancies. After spending two awful nights in a smoking room we finally got switched to a livable room and things are looking up.

The boys are doing so well. I'm really proud of them. I can definitely see the lack of schedule taking its toll though. It will be a huge relief to get them back on schedule.

Zach is talking so much now. He is hysterical. His most common exclamations are, "Mama, WAIT!" "I see you." "Oh, c'mon!" "Come here! Look!" and, most of all "Mama, *insert whatever motorized vehicle he sees*" He loves to count and he knows the whole alphabet, including letter sounds. He's starting to work on reading and he loves PBS Kids, especially "Super Why."

Gabriel is such a gem. He's been the most amazing little trooper through all of this chaos. So sweet. He's definitely starting to assert his will. I'm trying to break his habit of screeching when I tell him not to do something. He just looks me in the eye, lets out one quick scream, then waits to see what I'll do. It's kind of odd, but if that's as bad as his tantrums ever get, I guess I should be happy. Gabey is way into "Curious George."

Bed time.

Day Before Flight

This morning is a complete fog. It started with a 4a.m. Tylenol dose, a feeble attempt at migraine control. Dim memories of Johnny leaving for work, the boys running around like banshees, a shower. Pepsi helped a bit.

Memory returns a bit around 9:30 when I managed to wade through the fog and pack the boys up and get out of Housekeeping's way. Off to Whole Foods for airplane snacks. Gluten free bunny grahams and gluten free crackers. GF vegan cookies. It's the small things.

It's improving. The migraine is now a mere splitting headache. Child's play. We returned to a clean hotel room, packed a picnic, and ventured to the nearby park. The boys needed to run.

Gabriel fell asleep; Zach did not. Now I'm down to a dull ache, nausea, and the barest thread of willpower to not dispose of Zach. He won't stop talking. They say inquisitiveness is a good thing. They did not have children and chronic migraines.

Dinner tonight with Caity and Elisabeth. I'm getting tired of goodbyes. That's the hard part. There's only so much sadness one can handle in a couple days. But a missed goodbye is much sadder; no closure.

Too much to do and no energy. I'm praying for a better day tomorrow. Cheer up! I'm going to India!

Loose Ends

We still need our visas. Apparently they like to come through at the very last possible minute, so we expect to have them Tuesday morning. We hope...

I need to call people. I'll be pretty much off the radar after Tuesday evening for who knows how long. I called the lovely Red today and I have many more people to call and give love before I head halfway around the world.

I need to reorganize all our belongings. Things are pretty together, but I need to check and double check all our carry-ons, banish liquids over 4 ounces, and prep for a huge trip with three little troublemakers. Okay, one isn't so little. ;-)

Spend this weekend with mom and sisters, make sure I've changed all addresses I need to, give everyone new contact information, say goodbye to all local friends, return my grandpa's house keys, get some gluten free food for the flight, gather important papers, sell Gabriel's carseat, deliver the stroller to the Sarmientos, buy another umbrella stroller, get my eyebrows waxed, get a haircut, and somewhere in there try to keep my brain and remaining sanity intact.

Who am I kidding? What sanity?

4 days until the flight.

First Pool Scare

So we are settled at our hotel after pack out and it's wonderful. It's a good bit bigger than our apartment and there is a pool on the roof. The boys are sleeping like little angels; the poor guys were so exhausted.

We checked out the pool after dinner. The boys were very tentative for the first few minutes; the both fussed when Johnny held them in the pool and didn't want to stay in the water. So I just followed them around the deck while Johnny swam. There were three other kids between the ages of 9 and 12 or so. These kids were jumping in the pool and popping back out of the water. Naturally, Zach thought that was pretty cool. What he did not realize is that a human being does not automatically pop back out of the water once one jumps in. So, when he suddenly leaped into the pool without warning he was understandably shocked within the next split second or so when I dove in, yanked him from the bottom of the pool, and held him until I stopped shaking. Aside from general disappointment he was unshaken. I'm a different story. I grew up in Florida so I know too many kids who have drowned, nearly drowned, or had various poolside accidents. I WILL NOT go up to that pool with those boys by myself. Ever. Not happening.

God definitely knew what he was doing when He gave moms lightning reflexes. This was my second truly terrifying emergency and for both of them there was no thinking, just doing. I hope and pray that my reflexes last through these boys' childhood. My goal is 21; after that they're in charge of their own destinies. I'll be too tired.

Praise God for His protection.