Here we go! It is currently 8:28 p.m., and Greg and I are officially ON HOLIDAY. We just returned from Green Bay, dropping off Maddie at Barry and Laura's. At first she couldn't wait for us to leave, but once we were actually walking out the door, she asked me if she could come home with us. I thought for a moment we might have a bit of a problem, but she didn't cry. Just looked a little disappointed, but then Laura shoved us out (bless her heart) and took over, and I'm sure everything is fine. At the moment, honestly, I'm more worried about how *I'm* going to feel about being away from Maddie for eight days. She's going to be preoccupied with Laura, Isabelle, Dougal (the cat), Mary, and Morgan. She'll have plenty to do, and probably won't miss me much until toward the end of her stay. I on the other hand am already looking over my shoulder, feeling like I'm forgetting something. Got a little choked up when we left, but rocked out to some T-Rex and Paul Westerburg on the way home and am feeling better now.
Bought a digital camera today; planning on taking pictures of me and Greg at Castledaly and emailing them to Laura so Maddie can actually *see* us at "the yellow house beyond the sea." Today Maddie said I couldn't fly on a plane because "it's too high up in the sky," but I assured her we would be safe.
Christ - not even two hours away from her yet, and I'm already "Maddie this Maddie that."
Deep breaths.
I'm not worried about her or anything. I just feel kind of guilty dumping her off with someone else for eight days. This is my first long trip away from her - bear with me, folks.
We are going to have such a good time. Greg is already on the brink of full-on rockin' out. I can see the excitement boiling under the surface, and he still has a few loose ends to tie up this evening and tomorrow morning. By tomorrow afternoon, we're both going to be giddy fools.
8:36. Time to take a shower. We're going out for one last night on the south side before we take off. Probably hit the Palomino (it's the only place still serving food after ten), and the Cactus Club as well. Looking forward to a glass of wine and time to let it really sink in that I AM LEAVING THE COUNTRY TOMORROW. Have already decided to bring a notebook, separate from my usual journal, to bring on the trip. Ireland definitely deserves its own book. Yes.
I can't believe I'm going to Ireland. I just can't believe it. This is fucking outstanding. Phenomenal. Incomprehensible. One of the best things about going with Greg (aside from the obvious) is that we're both pretty independent people, but accomodating. He's used to going by himself, and I've already told him not to feel obligated to entertain me every single day - go for walks alone if he wants to, etc. And he's given me the same space. It's going to be really strange for us to be around each other so much - eight days solid, no work, no Maddie - and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds, how we get along in the mornings, how we book our time, how we are in the silences. Greg said today that this will be the true test to show if we really are compatible in the ways we'd like to be, and I completely agree. I also said that, in my opinion, the true test would be when Greg sees me without my teeth for the first time. :D But, you know, that's just me.
He laughed his ass off.
Alright. Shower. Go out. Have fun. Say goodbye to all the SUCKERS who don't get to go! Hehehe.
I may post again tomorrow before I go, but just in case... Keep checking my site while I'm out. I'll probably be able to post to the blog from Ireland, and hopefully will be able to put up some pictures!
Slan!
Posted by stephanie at March 30, 2004 08:48 PM