our last nite

The last nite in the USA for any/all American expats living/moving overseas is... well, frankly, the last nite of luxury... (faithful electric, clean water, uhh.. walmart?)  all... before launching out to new lands... right?

not!

while staying with friends on our last nite, a transformer at the end of the block blew up!  and started a fire!  fire trucks, ambulances, utility trucks.. (at least we can all be grateful for a working city infrastructure, yes?)  they all showed up.  so.. we (Michael and I) left! (thinking that all would be fixed within a few hours)  We put on our "productive" hats and worked on taxes (ugh) and Miguel's latest science test (ugh, from him) and we were grateful for wi-fi at Panera Bread. (albeit they only offer free wi-fi for 30 min during their lunch hour.. everyone: TAKE NOTE!)

Still... by 6:30 pm, in the dark... we knew that we might need to make other plans.

We ended up in a hotel... I think it's because, in a moment of weakness and without electricity (in AMERICA! on our last nite!)... I cried.  And my 16 year old son, who is SO much like his FATHER... just made a decision!  (hmm. mom is crying, we have one more nite in the USA..ok,  pack the carry on, (don't forget the x-box), and take care of mom) Needless to say,  he won his mother's heart!

it was a good decision.. insurance paid for the room...

so, here we are, in a hotel in America.. 24 hours b4 boarding a plane to Nepal... looking forward to a good night's sleep!

and grateful...