Why Am I Blogging Today?

And that is the question of the day.  Why am I blogging today?  I have been pounding down this todo list with gusto, and yet it stays the same size.  With every task I complete, another one pops up.  I have lots that I need to do, but here I am, typing away.

Today was going to be my day to get all of our financial docs ready to hand over to Emily so that we know things will be taken care of in the month that we are gone.  Alas, that has not happened  . . . yet.  It will.  It may be midnight, but I'll get them done.  I've just been pulled in a hundred different directions today.  None of it relates to adoption exactly, but it was all really, really important.

Today is Savannah's 15th birthday.  Hurray!  Herman decided that we should take her out for breakfast this morning.  Since we needed to take the three youngest kids to school we had to wait until they were dropped off before we headed to breakfast.  Savannah just skipped the first couple of hours of school to do this.   This is never a problem for Savannah since she isn't missing a single point in any of her classes.  We ate a hearty breakfast at Cracker Barrel before Savannah decided that she would have a go at it and see if she could get her drivers permit.  She has been on the fence about this for awhile, not terribly excited about getting it.  But she sat down for a few minutes to read the manual and then headed to the license bureau to take the test.  The problem was that I was the one who took her to what I thought was the testing center.  Laney got her permit in Springfield, so I didn't know the procedure for Pulaski County.  Savannah and I sat at the license bureau for half an hour.  While we were waiting in an extraordinarily long line I heard the lady at the desk ask several people for their social security card.  Well, I only brought Savannah's birth certificate, so I called Laney to see if she could bring the social security card to us.  While we were waiting for Laney I let several people go in front of us.  And we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.  Where was Laney?  We only live five minutes from the license bureau, so it shouldn't take that long.  She had called more than ten minutes earlier to say that she was on her way.  I started to get those visions I always get when Laney is late driving somewhere.  I started worrying that she had had some horrible accident on the half mile drive between our house and downtown.  Finally I called her, and she said she was right next to the testing site . . . CLEAR ACROSS TOWN.  Oh no!  I forgot, but they do the testing in St. Robert and issue the license in Waynesville (because it has to be as complicated as possible, I'm sure).  So Savannah and I headed over to the correct spot, and she was able to take her test in about five minutes.  She passed.  Hurray!  So we headed back to the license bureau office, and Savannah got her learner's permit.  So now we have two teenage drivers in the Blau house.  I didn't let Savannah drive when we headed to drop her at the high school.  It freaks me out too much.  I keep slamming my foot on the invisible brakes on the passenger side.  You know the ones -- the only thing that makes me believe that I have an ounce of control when I'm not driving.  My mother still presses on those invisible brakes when I am driving her somewhere, and I'm not that horrible of a driver.  So anyway, I let Herman handle the initial driving training.  He is much more patient and less prone to nervous squeaking when things don't go smoothly. 

Our New Almost-Licensed Driver!

So, that whole experience ended up taking the entire morning.  It was great to spend one-on-one time with Savannah on her birthday, so it was time well spent.  I'm not any closer to getting ready for our trip, but ultimately this is way more important than anything else I had planned for the morning.  The other stuff will find a way to get done, but this time with Savannah is priceless. 

After dropping Savannah at school I had about a second to get a few travel things done before Herman called me to come with him to the Quest office so that Jan, our notary, could notarize one last adoption document as well as the power of attorney forms that we drew up so that Emily can take over things if the world falls apart while we're gone.  Now that is one freaky little document.  I really trust Emily, and that is the only thing that keeps me calm while signing a document that gives someone else the power to make financial decisions for us in our absences.  She now has access to all of our accounts.  It make me waver between feeling a lot more calm about our situation and being a bit freaked out about the whole thing.  At least our bases are covered.   As Jan finished notarizing everything she told us that this may be the only time in her career when she ever has to notarize these types of documents.  She was excited to do it, and I'm soooo grateful that we have her.  She has been an angel through this process of collecting documents galore for the adoption.

So at least I got one important adoption thing done today, and that was essential for us to do before we left.  I may not have any clothes packed.  My house may be a total disaster.  But I've got all of my documents.  I have enough chocolate packed to keep me sane.  I will survive.  We will survive.  Tomorrow I'm off to take the dogs to my parent's house in Carrollton.  Laney and I will make the three hour drive there, have lunch, and then make the three hour drive back.  Hopefully I'll have enough time left in the day to get the laundry done and get everything totally packed so that we can head to St. Louis on Thursday evening.  We'll spend the night there and then head to the airport early on Friday morning.  I can hardly believe it!  I should be getting more done, but I just had to sit down and take an internet break for a bit.  Tonight I'll throw myself into crunch mode, and I'll catch right up.  It's how I roll best, I think. 

So . . . here's to a productive evening!