Count Down: 9 Days

In the next nine days the following must be done (not all of these are my jobs):

• Evan must get to the DMV to pay for a new driving test
• He must make and keep an appointment with an driving tester to take the test.
• He must go back to the DMV with his form indicating he passed (we hope) and get his driver's license. (Everywhere else I have lived all three of these could be accomplished with one trip to the DMV.)
• He must pack his belongings Though he has less than most kids, he does have stuff. This involves:
• 1. Deciding what he is going to take and what he is going to leave behind
• 2. Determining if he needs more boxes than we have available
• 3. Getting more boxes if needed
• 4. Packing the boxes
• 5. Driving the boxes to his grandmother's house
• He needs to get to his counselor's office in The City Monday 2:30pm
• He needs to shop for yet more clothes (non-glamorous things like socks)
• He needs to shop for toiletries
• We are going out for dinner with his social worker on Monday evening (odd, there is only one Monday left, no room for confusion)
• We are inviting his relatives, particularly his mother, grandmother, aunt, and sisters over for dinner next Saturday evening (there are still two Saturdays to keep track of). So food will have to be purchased and prepared. (Anyone out there familiar with Scotland? Is there any food in particular that an American boy is likely to miss?)

Things which were once on the list but which I do not think are anymore included one last medical exam, which he never got around to scheduling, and a trip to his the hamburger joint with the very best onion rings around.

Of course some of this of course he could shift over to me. He could for instance only pack up what he needs to take to Scotland and leave the rest. I could pack up what he leaves behind. That would allow me to collect boxes as I go. I could also pick up each and every one of his things with my breeder-cootie covered hands, look at them with my prying adult eyes, and read any notes or letters I find. (Yes, I am still wondering if Evan reads the blog.) I could also rest assured that nothing that belongs to me ends up in his belongings.

I do need to check though. My agency at least in the past has required doing an inventory of a youth's possessions when they move in and out which both the youth and the parent have to sign. This is to protect both of us from later accusations of stolen family heirlooms and iPod connector cables. I will have to check about that. It is one of the rules though that the social workers are half-hearted about enforcing. If it is still one of the rules than we must add "Evan must take inventory of his belongings with me, Hubby or his social worker as witness" to the list.

What do I need to do? Well, I need to finish knitting the scarf I promised. And of course there is all the work stuff to do. The next couple of weeks will be busy there too.

I am actually feeling much better than I was yesterday. I am really hoping that the exhaustion that I have been feeling recently was my run with the virus that Evan and Brian are so clearly fighting now. They are stuffy, sleepy, coughing, have low-grade fevers and are complaining of slightly sore throats. I have felt exhausted beyond the ability of words to describe for a while now. Yesterday I cancelled classes, napped and made turkey soup for everyone for dinner. It seems to have helped me anyway.

I now feel like I can handle the next 9 days.

Oh...and another question for anyone familiar with Scotland. Evan wants to be reassured -- are batteries the same? Will he be able to buy them for his camera?