We Got House and other news

The youngers and I are back from a weekend on Vashon Island. This is narrow piece of lovely about a 29 minute ferry ride from Seattle. What was interesting about this place was that each of us visitors (from around the US) felt that it looked just like somewhere we loved (the coast of maine, upstate new york, a small town in PA). Either we were all high from the lavender farms that dot the island, or it's just one of the places that has the immediate impression of "welcoming".

We were up there mainly to attend the Cambodia Tomorrow board meeting, but got lots of good social time in, so that was great. It was fun for the kids to be around other adoptees (although George the Younger lamented his status as the "only Vietnamese" kid there). George the Elder and I do not spend much energy or importance on lets-talk-about-our-adoptee-status at home with the boys, but it's fun for them to be able to meet these other folks. Mostly, the kids just played outside, went to the pool and headed off to see Transformers during the weekend. It's not like we had them sit and round table about their "feelings" of being adopted. Mostly they round tabled about how to get more marshmallows for s'mores or about how everyone was yelling at them simultaneously to keep the frickin soccer ball out of the baby lavender. Pretty normal stuff.


In the picture are most of the board members of the ngo - they are easily identified as the "white folk" in the photo. We had a great meeting (it was my first) and I have to admit I was getting a bit of a thrill out of thinking and acting like I had a job again (mission statements, visions, personal goals and action steps). It was nice to take those skills out of the bag and dust them off for a change. Today I am back to home management (laundry mostly), but perhaps being on this board will give me the little of "I am NOT JUST a mom" back that I am craving.

In other news, we actually are home owners, although I haven't been over to the house yet. After some ado about an environmental somethingorother, we went "on record" sometime on Thursday while I was in the air between SF and Seattle - mainly reflecting on how the death of the king of pop was affecting travelers (i.e. when we were in SF folks were getting off the plane trying to confirm the "rumor" that they had heard while they were in the air. Others were just noticing on the large screen TVs and shouting out to one another - - weird). George finally got over there on Sunday, so at least one of us has visited the place. It's odd, since we're both excited about getting the place - - but are in a place in the process where we own it, but don't need to really use it, but need to plan for it, but don't need it's physical presence yet.

I suspect I will walk over there this afternoon to check it out and use the key (just for fun). I also have to meet with a new neighbor who I am trying to woo with my unparalleled cooperation so that I can get her pay-back partisanship in the short future. My plan is to seem unbelievably convivial about trimming back a tree for her (that is on our property). My expectation is that when we present her with the plans to do-whack-a-do to our place that she will feel the need to reciprocate and give us her immediate blessing. This is the plan any way. We will see.