Jeff - Final day before traveling to Ukraine

Here we are – it’s about 24 hours before we head for the airport. Funny – all the prep in the world, and there’s still 48 hours of stuff to do in the next 24 hours!

I have to give my dentist a huge thank you. I’ve had a tooth that’s been sensitive for a while. About two weeks ago, it got worse. My worry was that I would end up in Kyiv searching for an introduction to a Ukrainian dentist. I’m sure they’re all nice guys, right? But that’s absolutely something we didn’t need to fit in to the trip. So I turned my lack of previous action into a crisis for my dentist. He came through – as of 3 PM yesterday, I have a new crown. I was joking with a friend the other day about getting my appendix out before I go. Remember Dian Fossey? One of the things on her to-do list before she headed to the highland jungles of Africa!

It’s been a very interesting week as we come down to the wire. Several other families have sent us ‘care packages’ to take to their kids. The amount of love we have to carry to Mariupol is amazing. Fortunately, that’s the light load. For the more substantial items, we’re going to have a challenge when we get to Kyiv. All of the blogs have made it a point that we need to travel light. We’re not. I called American Airlines the other night to see what the restrictions are on luggage for international flights. When I was at Rackable Systems for four years, I traveled internationally quite a bit, so I still have Platinum status on American. Not sure what the standard limits are, but I was told that we can bring 2 checked bags each plus one carry-on and one personal item. The checked bags are limited to 50 pounds, and the carry-on items are 40 pounds combined. Between two people – that’s 280 pounds worth of stuff! Well, two of the 50 pound checked bags are already stuffed with toys and clothes and Halloween candy. The toys and candy have been provided by the families with kids that are over there, but the clothes that we are donating have come from multiple sources. The generosity of people who know where we are going is very heartwarming.

My own musings as we get closer have been influenced heavily by one of the thoughts that David shared with me last week, with some amazing coincidences of supporting events. Sometimes you just need to hear it from multiple sources.

One of the things David mentioned was that I can spend the time thinking about what it will mean to have a daughter. I have had a son for 16 years. I know what it means to be a father, right? Well, surprisingly it doesn’t mean a thing. Turns our girls are different. I was listening to a radio program yesterday that was talking about the impact that a father has on a teenage daughter. There were three aspects of this that I hadn’t really thought about before. The focus of the program was really around how a father’s words affect a girl, how fathers in today’s society are allowing their daughters to do things they probably don’t approve of, and how teens rebel to establish their own place in the world. Obviously, I’ve been living through this with a young man, but now I have to think differently. It’s really been nice to have this hiatus before we head to Ukraine to think about such things. And thanks to those who remind me to think of such things.

I’ve also been reading other blogs from people about to adopt and people who have just completed the adoption process fairly recently. Links are below, but two mentions: Thanks to Tracy for her conversations with God. And thanks to Mark and Laurel who adopted a young lady slightly older than Nastiya – the thoughts of those who have gone before have been hugely valuable to me in preparing for the next part of the journey – the part that lasts for ever

OK – back to the last minute things: you know – packing, picking up the last few items, one last sales call, dumping everything else on my buddy Eric…

Next blog from Ukraine. Poka!