sick and tired

Literally.  Last week my husband, Dan, was down for the count.  He had a terrible cough, stuffy nose, and aches.  Trying to be a good wife, I took as much care of him as I could while keeping a safe distance.  I told him not to breathe on me ;) and reminded (ok, nagged!) him about taking his medicine.  Out of love, of course!  Anyway, he is on the road to recovery.  Guess who is sick now?  I've been bed/couch-ridden for the last three days, with a cuddly blanket and the remote to comfort me, surrounded by a tower of tissues. 

We are leaving for our DC Fulbright Orientation in three days.  We have more than three days worth of work to get done.  Our dear partner, Sophie, reminded us that she will forgive a little dust in our house if we will do the same for her.  After all, can we ever really be ready to turn our house over to another?  Of course there are many improvements I'd like to make in our apartment.  Little problems that we have lived with for years suddenly seem unacceptable for our partner.  This, of course, leads to interesting "discussions" between my husband and me as we define our own "acceptable" conditions.  Oh well.  It will have to do.  I will do my best to leave our condo in a condition that will not shame me!  My husband has pointed out  that he is tired of waiting, and I agree.  After a certain point, we were just ready to get this experience started already.  Waiting is hard!  We are too excited to be patient!  I can't wait to meet Sophie, who seems like an old friend already.  I can't wait to meet the East coast Fulbrighters - I wonder if we will visit each others' sites?  I am eager to start school and to meet my new students.

So now, what to pack..?!?  Why is this so challenging for me?  I could just wrap my arms around my closet and shove it all into my suitcase...  but will my aloha attire make me stand out too much in Bretagne?  I do expect to stand out a little.  My husband does too.  He stands out here, somehow.  I think it is because he is tall and strong and has a unique little goatee.  He is recognizable.  I fully expect our small community to recognize us as "that American couple" and that is ok.  In fact, it may help us to strike up conversations. 

My thoughts are a bit scattered - is it my maladie or just everything that is going on?  I don't know.  Three days to go.