Adventure Incoming!

Our family is about to do something we've never done, and I think it qualifies as an adventure.

In preparation for our adventure, we have spent the better part of a week cleaning my house. I did things I hadn't done in far too long—like washing all the floors and wiping down cupboard doors. I've vacuumed up several pets worth of fur and rediscovered the white stove-top. I even cleaned out the little compartments on the washer where you put in the soap and bleach and so forth. (One would think that a container for soap would not get dirty. One would, of course, be wrong.)

All of this has been in preparation for the arrival of a guest coming to us all the way from France!

And the kicker is, we don't even know the guy.

A group of students and their teachers from Barr, France, will be visiting my high school for the next two weeks. While the French students have all been farmed out to homes of our students, one of the teachers will be staying with us. We are officially ready to welcome Simon!

The door to Simon's room, decorated by Abby

Abby actually deserves a lot of credit for this adventure. When my colleague asked if I'd like to host a teacher, I said we couldn't. Our guest room is not really fit for guests. I mean, my poor dad gets stuck in there, but he wants to see his granddaughter, so he'll put up with the old window, the crappy carpet, and the water-stained ceiling. (We'll get to it all, eventually...) But I couldn't imagine offering the space to Simon.

When I told Abby about it, she did not hesitate before shouting out, "He can have MY room!"

And so...the adventure to make the eleven-year-old's room hospitable began. (This may have been the most dangerous part of our journey.)

And now it's done. The house is tidy, the surfaces dusted. And we wait.

The French folks are en route from New York City (they spent their first three days in the U.S. there), but their bus broke down, so instead of a 5:30 pm arrival, we're looking at 8 or 8:30...

In the meantime, I've been pondering what French I remember from high school. Not a lot, it turns out. We've exchanged a few emails with Simon, who has written to us in English, so probably we'll do just fine. Still, I wish I knew more French!

But I'm trying not to dwell on the potential troubles (I know! So unlike me!). Fingers crossed for a fabulous couple of weeks...I'll let you know how it goes!