The (terrifying) count down is on...

We have just about two and a half months till we leave for Sweden and I really could scarcely feel less prepared. We've had some housing setbacks (or, more accurately housing nothingnesses... it's not like anything we had was taken away from us, we just haven't gotten anywhere) and some set backs on schools, combined with some upswings to counteract them. Overall I'm feeling optimistic but still mostly overwhelmed. Here are my current random thoughts and updates on the 2017-18 Sabbatical Adventure. (Everything sounds more exciting and fun and DOable when you call it an "adventure", no?)

~ We messaged the International School (ISSR) that had accepted three of the four school children to inquire about Marianne's position on the waitlist (despite the clear note on the original message that no questions would be answered regarding students' positions on the waitlists) and were informed that due to lack of turnover, things did not look promising (despite the note in the original message that due to high turnover at the school, they expected all waitlisted students to obtain spots in their classes), and they hoped we had applied at other schools as well. We had not. I quickly researched the other school that I found most appealing, and submitted online applications for all four school aged kids. Part of the reason I had not originally applied to this school - Rödabergsskolen (Red Mountain School) - was that they are a Swedish school taught in English, which means they begin formal education later, and it did not appear that Peter would be old enough to attend. Also, the very helpful relocation folks at KTH had gotten us an "in" at ISSR that made it much more convenient to apply to. After a couple weeks of waiting, a call to a vice principal at Rödabergsskolen, and a brief email exchange, we received notice today that all four school aged kids have been accepted, and that it will be no problem for them to begin a week or two late when we arrive! Praise God! I was hoping that at least Marianne and Ruth would be accepted, so they could attend one school together while the younger kids attended another. I had scarcely hoped that all four might get in! This is a huge relief to me. It also helps that Rödabergsskolen is very near to KTH, so I'm hopeful that Nathaniel can oversee the morning commute for the kids, leaving Rachel and me to enjoy a quieter morning routine before we venture out to explore the city each day!

~ We've been "advertising" our house for rent primarily through word of mouth so far, but we may be coming to the point where we need to actually advertise it on some sort of site - craigslist or the like. I'd much prefer to have a friend of a friend renting it, since, as Nathaniel's realtor-cousin pointed out when he looked around and helped us talk through how much to ask, we want to move back into a house that's in just as great of shape as we're leaving it. And if you find renters without personal connections, you never know how they might treat your home. If you know of anyone in need of a rental, please let me know and I'd be happy to pass along the listing I put together with photos and info! We had one couple come look at the house last week. I loved them. I wish I could have handed them the keys right then! Sadly (for us) they found a house to buy instead of renting. I'm not exactly hoping that horrible things are discovered in their inspection so they have to come running back to us... but maybe just a little.

~ The housing situation in Sweden is no more resolved than the rental situation here. There's a gorgeous and ideal apartment for rent from a KTH professor, but it costs over twice our current mortgage payment and we are hoping not to spend ALL our travel funds on housing. (And by "we", I mean Nathaniel. He is putting his foot down. I would likely have caved by now and taken it just to have this item checked off the to do list.) KTH put us in touch with a house hunting service, but they are incredibly slow to respond and things are plodding along at a snail's pace. I'm sure it will all work out. Happily, the kids getting in to Rödabergsskolen opened up our options some, as they do not require that we live within the Stockholm Municipality to hold our spots. We don't want to live too far out, but there are other municipalities nearby that may have more options in our preferred price range. Or so I've heard and so I hope. Nevermind. The email with additional information I received since posting this makes it clear that we still need to aim for the Stockholm Municipality. Oh, well. It's just money, right?

~ Each day I get up and think, "What can I actually accomplish today toward making this adventure happen?" I feel like there should be a long list of easy answers, but there is not. I can't really begin packing up rooms because we have to live here for a couple more months, and we have to show this house to potential renters. Also, I have kids here constantly looking over my shoulder which makes it difficult to throw all their stuff away. I was discussing this with a friend at the pool the other day and really realized as I said it that "I can accomplish more in five days without the kids home than I can in a month with them here." So I'm biding my time trying to get other things done while I make mental plans for sorting, packing and planning when the kids go to stay with my parents next month.

~ We just received the acceptance letters from Rödabergsskolen this morning, and a few hours later the Lands End school uniform catalog arrived in the mail to taunt me. This will be the kids' first (and only) school year to not have uniforms. I'm dreading it a bit. I suppose part of the potential craziness of them getting to wear "whatever they want" will be mitigated by the fact that they can only bring as many clothes as we can fit in their suitcases, so their clothing choices will be seriously limited. There will be a lot of repeating outfits, without so much caring about whether you just wore that three or four days ago. (Does anyone else remember this very real fear from h.s., college and even when I was working in my 20s... "Did I wear this already this week?! What if someone notices?!" These days I can't remember what I wore yesterday and I certainly can't keep track of what anyone else has worn recently. Plus, there's that whole thing about how the most successful, genius sorts have a whole bunch of one outfit and they wear the same thing every day. I can totally get behind that mindset.) For a brief period while Rachel and I were having lunch and I was paging through the Lands End catalog, I considered whether perhaps I'd order the kids a bunch of khakis and polos and declare them to be our family's uniform! Who cares that the school doesn't mandate what you wear? Your mother has simplified your life by taking it upon herself to set that mandate. You're welcome! I think we can all predict how that would go over.