"Anyone was a candidate to be his friend" - Tom O'Brien

Hello from our house! Yes, as I posted eight days ago, our shipment (our stuff) came in and we were able to move. Moving is such a mixed bag of excitement, accomplishment, menial dreadful tasks, disorientation, hope, frustration, and in our case, a small flood, a broken refrigerator and a bunch of unidentified beeping noises. The house that we rented is very old, but renovated. It is obvious from the appliances, floors, light fixtures etc., that the owner of the house put a lot of thought and money into it. And so far, he has been great, very concerned and responsive. He even brought in a guy to teach me how to use the "cooker". The biggest challenge has been the technology. I have to admit that I am desperately attached. The TV was up and running yesterday, and I used the house phone for the first time today. We were literally on the phone in the garden (backyard) so that we could get reception, trying to set up our Sky TV. Turnaround time is a little slower here, and my sense of urgency is a little stronger.

Through the distractions I have managed to get the kitchen, playroom and the boys room up and running. I have been driving the kids to school everyday, and I am feeling much better. As long as I know where I am going, I am OK. The Director of the boys' school called me Karen and I didn't correct her. I told myself that I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly, but she clearly thinks my name is Karen. As I walked away I thought, "Could I be Karen here? I kind of like that." I could probably pull it off if Tom was willing. The boys think that my name is mommy. Alright I am not serious. But if you get a Christmas card from Tom, Karen and the boys, you will know who it's from.

We lost our friend Peter this week. He was Tom's roommate in High School and a very close friend. Tom was talking to me about Peter and telling me that he had always loved interesting characters. Peter was very well put together but was happy to be a friend to lots of different people, no matter what they looked like, or where they came from, if they were like him or not. Tom said that anyone was a candidate to be Peter's friend. I thought that that was a quite a compliment, and I felt inspired by it. We will miss you Peter.