Normal craziness--One week before travel

I know that I already blogged today, but it was just one of those days. So, forgive me for venting here.  First of all, the boys' bus was late this morning, and that late start made me late to my appointment to have our dogs groomed. That, in turn, made it too late for me to meet my workout partner this morning, since she had to cut it short today. Then, I dropped my cell phone on the driveway, and completely shattered the touch screen. I spent 45 minutes in the Verizon store, and then had to go back again and spend another 45 minutes back at the store in the afternoon. Grrrr. The upside of the day is that my new cell phone has a really cool app. If anyone whistles, the phone whistles back a fun little tune! It's supposed to be a locator app, for the times we can't find the phone. The boys are having a riot whistling at random times. Then, while the boys were at taekwondo lessons, David and I went over to our cottage to inspect the premises because our tenant moved out on Monday. We topped off our evening with our weekly dinner out. During our dinner, we received an email from our adoption agency. The orphanage director of the Jinan orphanage wants to have dinner with us when we are there. Holy Moly! I'm already lecturing the boys on NOT passing gas during dinner, and I need to work on my chopstick skills. According to the adoption agency, they are "not sure exactly why (this is a pretty unusual request) but guesses that maybe he (our child) is a special child to the orphanage director.  SSIT said that the orphanage has called twice to be sure that you know you are invited to dinner and they’re sure that you’re meant to be the guests." One week until we travel, and I'm still NOT 100% packed, and now I need to learn how to eat with chopsticks. John has already told us that he will NOT translate for us. Great. This, in my opinion, is great news, but it makes me way behind schedule! I still can't believe that we leave in a week and I'm not even completely packed yet.

It's all what you're used to

People regularly ask me, "How on Earth do you do it all?" Honestly, I think for most things, it's all what you're used to doing that makes things easy. I used to train for marathons, and in 2009 (before my knees gave out) running 10-15 miles was super easy. Now, I can't run 3 miles without a break. I'm in as good of  shape physically, since I still work-out 2-3 hours a day, but I simply am not used to running anymore. When you only have a 10x10 apartment, you are used to living in a 10 x 10 space. See http://www.myoverthinking.com/2012/03/100-sq-feet.html
People also ask me if our adopted sons are extremely grateful to us. I try to explain that, No, our adopted children are not any more grateful than our bio children, nor would I expect them to be. They were used to living in an orphanage. We took that away from them. Then, we forced them to get used to living in a family in America. It wasn't a perfect life in China, and our sons were severely malnutritioned, but it was what they were used to. In the past two years, our adopted sons have gotten used to walking up to the enormous refrigerator (or the double door pantry) and complaining that there's nothing good to eat. Obviously, they are now used to living in the land of plenty. I'm used to a houseful of many, noisy, rambunctious, flatulent, boys. I make great big pots of food everyday, because that is what I am used to doing. I do laundry everyday, and I drive boys to sports everyday. There's no secret answer to the question of how do I do it all. Adding two more boys to our family won't change what I do everyday, because I am used to a chaotic, busy household. I pray that our new little guys will adjust quickly. I pray that they get used to us, and that they are healthy. But, if they are not, I'll get used to that too. We are now used to giving Ben his various daily medications, while watching his every breath. Humans are amazingly adaptable, and we can rise to every challenge if given enough time.