Sooo much from the past week. I don't even really have time to write now, as I need to pick up the girls and get school supplies and such things students require. The second girl arrived late Thursday, and while she seems significantly quieter than the Swede, she is wonderfully sweet as well.
San Francisco was as great as ever. I know there are people who don't like it, but I really find little wrong with it, at least in terms of places i like to live. It's beautiful; it's easy to navigate; there is water; there is good food; people live really consciously. I get the same feeling there that I do in Amsterdam (not to the same degree, but the basic feeling is still the same) – it feels like a place I belong. Like home. And I won't lie – a lot of that has to do with the fact that so many of my friends are there. That certainly helps.
Daniel & Danielle had a beautiful little outdoor ceremony, and they used some of the same elements in their vows as David and I did. Which was both flattering and touching, and when we heard the words from someone else's mouths we both cried a little bit, because they were really good, weren't they?
We also had really good time with other friends – Heather, Carrie, Patrick, Nora – and the weather could not have been nicer. I was really really sad when we left.
But then the students came, and this is truly quite a project. I may be in a little over my head. But, I have to say, in a good way. I'm seeing things different, and you know, I've barely had time for a single cocktail. OK, maybe a SINGLE cocktail. Yesterday I got them enrolled in school and let me tell you – dealing with DISD gave me a new-found respect for parents, because that is some inefficient shit right there. In my imaginary world, I throttled every person I came in contact with. Of course, for the sake of the girls, I remained poised and professional. Which is more than I can say for the DISD representatives I dealt with.
Generally things have been good then, but the one low point is I feel issues over the house with my mother just took a turn for the worse, and she said a few things that really hurt my feelings, so I've resolved to try and be out in a month. It's going to be tough, what with the girls and packing and working and whatnot, but I know it will help get rid of this constant frustration that has been the background noise to 2007 & 2008, and I can finally feel like a normal, independent person again. My advice? Never ever ever ever ever ever go into a family "agreement" without really writing down financial responsibilities, deadlines, outcomes, etc. It seems obvious, but when it is your mother you think "Oh, we'll work this out as it goes". Well, you don't. Especially when your mother is too sentimentally attached to the house to deal with it rationally.
That's all I will say on the matter. Look to find us elsewhere in 4-6 weeks. YAY.
