Lists, lists and more lists...

It is apparent you can never have enough of them when you are moving overseas! Our India master list is ever expanding. It seems the minute I feel I've made a decent inroad one of us remembers another 311 things that MUST be done before we leave (in 25 days).

Lists aside, there are a number of things that make the move seem both more imminent and more real (at least for me):

*I've "retired" from my job as a ICU RN (Bob keeps telling me it's not permanent but I don't know what he's talking about!) I've worked with some amazing and wonderful people at North Memorial in the past 8 years and I've had the privilege of working with one of the best bosses I've ever had this past year.

*I've stepped down as Chapter Leader of ICAN of the Twin Cities. Ask Bob and he will surely tell you that I have dedicated many, many volunteer hours and resources (time, sleep and finances...a portion of which are his!) to the International Cesarean Awareness Network. Starting up the chapter and developing it into a thriving source of education, advocacy and support for local women affected by the ridiculous cesarean rates and limited VBAC options has been life transforming. None of this was accomplished without Julie Maas as my Co-leader nor without the women who have become involved in the chapter and attended the monthly meetings. Leaving the chapter was hard but I know it will grow to be even better under the Leadership of Julie and new co-leader Molly Stefek! I love ICAN! www.ican-online.org

*The Garage Sale finally happened and the interior of the garage no longer looks like a flea market.

* The moving company came by to talk over the move (we're shipping both my air and sea and storing some things) and asked us what was going where! (Uh...you mean you need to know that now? GULP!)

*I realized I could not dedicate time to my midwifery study group (birth, homebirth and midwifery being my passion, it was a decision I did not want to make until we were off the airport!) I can tell you that there are going to be some great new midwives in our local birth scene in the future...

*I got an invitation to attend a Birth India gathering in Mumbai, India in November and realized I could actually go :0)

*We sent an Evite out to all our friends and family for our "Going Away" party on August 4th (if we missed you, send us an email and know we didn't mean to!)

I'm sure that Bob's list is different from mine (I'll get him to post here eventually...) and I'm sure that there will be other "a-ha we're really moving to INDIA" moments in the next month but these strike me at the moment...

Chandra

Starting up our blog...

Ok, I finally get to post! Those of you who are familiar with my proclivity towards email and various online discussion groups (what my kids call "cuddling with the 'puter") will understand Bob's hesitation about this blog... But here we are. This week, after a many months long process, Bob signed his Target contract sending us all of to Bangalore, Karnataka, India. We will be moving around August 18th, 2007. With this blog we hope to keep all interested parties (and our families, whom we insist remain interested!) abreast of our lives and travels in India.

How does a family make the decision to pick up and move from one state, country, continent and multiple time zones into another? It starts slowly...a conversation mentioning an impending opportunity...an exploration of possibilities... many "what ifs?" and "why nots?" Talk of leaving behind friends and family. Talk of "once in a lifetime." Ideally, I think the decision is made, not all at once, but rather as a bit of choreography. In our case, we spent a whole lot of time on our front porch imagining a life we had never imagined!

At the moment, our remaining time in the U.S. is rushing by. So much to do. So much to think about. Packing. Selling. Storing. Saying Goodbye. Passports. Visas. A dozen *important* lists. Our children's needs. Our own needs. Our dog's needs! Finishing my job. Bob, doing his job. A garage sale. A going away party. A myriad other. We are grateful for the strength of our marriage, for the blessing of friendships, for an amazing opportunity to experience India and the world with the closeness of residency. In Bob's case, I know he is also excited to be working for Target India...to learn more of how business happens in India...to share his own knowledge of Target culture and process with his new co-workers...

We hope that some of you will visit us in Bangalore! In the mean time, give us a call, stop by, or otherwise connect with us... 38 days and counting.

Chandra