As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel room outside of Washington DC.  I've already spent a fabulous few days visiting with my boy child at BU. I got to watch his accapella group perform, take him out to a bunch of meals he otherwise wouldn't spend his own money on, and just spend some time lurking around his campus. It doesn't matter how far away one lives, it's beyond comforting for a parent of a college kid to get a glimpse (even if it's teeny-tiny) into their lives away from - and independent - of us.

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​Goofy Mama...

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​Happy Mama...

​Super Proud Mama...!

My time in Boston with the boy child was most excellent.  I miss him so much, but understand that this phase in his life is as necessary as him learning to tie his shoe, or ride a bike, or wake up to an alarm clock.
He loves me.  But he doesn't need me. At least, not in the way he used to.
So, now I'm in DC, sucking up every moment I can with the oldest girl child. Pictures to follow! 

In less than a week, my husband and our 2 younger daughters - who aren't really so young anymore - will be leaving for another adventure, this one in Kathmandu, Nepal.  We will be spending 6 days at an orphanage that my kid's school has had ties to for over a decade, having sent supplies, money and able-bodied teens and teachers there for weeks of service and fun. My own family has gotten to know the place well over the years.  Child #1 and #2 spent time there when they were in high school; Child #3 has been 4 times already and Child #4 is anxious to follow in her sibling's footsteps.  My husband and I feel the same way.

This trip is not just about service, though.  We will also be traveling with a local film crew who, after hearing about the relationship between our school and the orphanage, decided they would like to make a documentary about it.  At first I was concerned.  I was worried what it would be like to travel to a third-world country where people are often times exploited, and whether or not the people I would be traveling with might have a different agenda than ours. I was worried they were going to try to make a film that focused on the idea of: "Wonderful White People Spending Their Spring Break Helping Those Less Fortunate Than Them".  

But after many meetings and time together, I feel differently.  And when the director asked Child #3 why she keeps wanting to go back, my daughter quickly explained, "It has very little to do with the projects we do there or even handing over the money we've raised throughout the year to help them out.  I mean, I know those things are important and all.  But for me?  I have to be honest. I go back because of the people. They're my friends.  Sure, they may be growing up different from me, but we're not that different, really. I miss them.  And they miss me."  
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So, regardless of what the film crew's agenda may be, I know my kid has her own.  And this is why I'm going. This I've got to see.

Last week, before my two older kids left to go back to college, we went out to the desert for some family fun.  We brought a photographer along to capture the day.  Even though no one (except maybe me) was super excited about getting all dolled up for an hour and a half ride out to the dunes, in the end it was so worth it!

Our photographer was a woman who's been living in Abu Dhabi for a long time and really knows how to capture the beauty of the UAE desert and a family's personality at the same time.  She was very patient with us and let us run and jump and laugh and be as goofy as we wanted.  Somehow, we still managed to get some decent shots....

I really like the above pictures.  But the ones below? Even better...

I will treasure these photos forever.  They will remind me of a time when my kids were no longer little, but still not too big. And they will remind me of a time when we lived in a place that was so foreign and so friendly at the same time.  

We also had a chance to spend some time in a Masai village, learning a bit about their culture, participating in a native dance and handing out the last of our much-coveted gum to a group of very happy kids...

     Well, I'm back!  In the land of blogging, that is. I haven't posted any updates to my blog for a few months and here are my main reasons: 1. I've been busy working on (yet another!) revision for the new manuscript I finished this summer, 2. when not working on my revision, I've been back and forth to the States, visiting my two college kids on their different campuses during the fall and 3. I'm a proscrastinator.
     I'll talk about #1 and #2 later. For now, let's focus on #3.
     Procrastination is every writer's biggest challenge.    
     Have you heard of the "butt in chair" concept?            Basically, it goes like this...in order to be a real writer, not just someone who likes to talk about being a writer you have to commit to the idea of taking some time every day to sit down, open your notebook or computer or whatever you use and write. Yes, actually write.  Sound simple?  Well, for many of us (okay, most of us) it really isn't.  People who love to write also love to sleep, and eat, and spend time with friends.  We like to look at social media, and play frisbee and go to the mall. There are also a whole list of things we don't like to do, but must, like laundry or school work or washing the dog.  And thus, because of all these "likes" and "musts", often times our writing gets pushed waaaaaay to the bottom of the list.  
     Why, you ask?  Why be a writer if writing is the last thing you put on your list?
     Well, because...because writing is hard work.  It takes alot of brain power.  And self confidence.  And creativity.  And most days, a writer doesn't have all 3 of those things happening at the same time.  And when all three things aren't happening at the same time, it's much easier to do the laundry. Or go to the mall. Or eat.
     I would like to tell you that one of my new year's resolutions is going to be to blog more frequently.  I know that I love getting frequent updates from the bloggers I follow and when they don't blog for awhile it's easy for me to lose interest.  But, in an effort to not start out the new year being a big liar, I'm not going to tell you that I'm going to blog more frequently. I will, however, tell you I'm going to TRY and blog more frequently. And, I will also tell you that I'm going to try and sit my butt in chair more frequently. Every day, if even it's only for 10 minutes.  And hopefully, that will lead to more manuscripts.  And more blog posts.
     Here's to a new year!  Let's do this, 2017!
     (Now I have to go switch the laundry...)

     In my last post, I talked about my family's recent move. This time we've been "moving", as in physically around. Alot.  Like, sometimes I wake up and don't know where I am, alot.
     In Abu Dhabi, most of the expats (those are what we call people who are living in a country other than their own), leave the country for the summer.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, it is hot. The kind of hot that means your tshirt is going to be soaked before you can get from your apartment to your car and crank on the air conditioning.  The kind of hot that makes you wonder if you are actually living on Venus, not Earth. I'm not kidding, look it up.  Today, for example, though the temperature in Abu Dhabi is only 113 degrees Fahrenheit, the "Real Feel" is 135.  Ouch.
      The other reason so many of us leave is to spend time with all those family members and friends that we don't get to see the rest of the year.  Abu Dhabi is a 15 hour plane ride from the east coast of the United States.  And even though we've had a few people travel half way around the world to come see us over the past 4 years, most of our visiting takes place in the summer.
     And that's where the fun comes in.  Over the past 8 weeks, we have spent time in Massachusetts, Kentucky and Colorado, catching up with family and friends.  I have dropped one daughter off at a camp in Illinois, went to a college orientation with my son in Boston, and swung by St Louis to pick another daughter up from the airport. It's been a summer of living out of suitcases, sleeping on couches and figuring out how many times we can load back into the minivan without screaming at each other. Through it all, we've been able to reconnect with those we love, and fill our bags and bellies with things we can't get in our host country. (Target and Taco Bell...ah, how we miss you!)
     It's been a great summer.  Soon, we will be boarding the plane to go back to what we now call home.  It will probably feel more bittersweet than usual, since I'm leaving two of my teens behind this year (more about that in another post), but my heart will be full and I will be grateful for all the memories we made together over the past few months.  
    Here's hoping you all had an awesome summer as well!

Last month, my family and I moved.  In Abu Dhabi, most people have two options when  it comes to housing: you either live in a villa (known as a house, to us Americans) or you live in a high rise apartment building.  For our first 3 1/2 years in Abu Dhabi, we chose the villa route.  It was a big villa, walking distance to my kid's school, with a lovely rooftop terrace and so many bathrooms that even if all 6 of us had to go at the same time, there was never a line. The street itself was comprised of similar villas and housed families from all over the world. In fact, we were the only Americans on the street, which made us a bit of a conversation piece to our Syrian, Morrocan and Emirati neighbors.  
It was a great place to live.  But, we were ready for a change.
I knew that finding the right apartment could prove challenging.  Most apartments aren't big enough to house 6 people.  Many don't accept dogs. And, if I was going to be really picky, I wanted a view of the ocean. Not too much to ask, right?
Everyone told me I would hate apartment living. They said it's a drag to wait for the elevator, that hauling groceries and dog food and backpacks would get old very quickly. I explained that, though I appreciated the conveniences my villa afforded me, I wanted to try something different.  As my husband put it, "We didn't uproot our family and move 8,000 miles, just to live in the same place for 15 years again."
One Saturday morning, as we were out walking George, we found it.  The apartment that would be our next home.  It checked most of the boxes:  5 bedrooms? Check. Walking distance to school? Check.  Dog Friendly? Double Check.
Bonus? This view...