Parents Going Back Home

My parents are flying back to Brazil tonight. I already dropped them off at the airport and they should soon be on their way to Miami, and then from there to São Paulo.

Since I'll be in Brazil with the boys in less than a month, my mom wasn't tearful this time. I wish our goodbyes could always be matter of fact and "nice" like today, but they never are. Oh well... that's one of the things I have to contend with because I decided to live here.

Now, the packing and weighting of the four enormous suitcases was funny as always, though -- too much too carry, too little space! My parents (and I too, but I'm trying to curb it) are big pack rats. In the end they left a full medium-sized suitcase for me to bring when I come. I'm really looking forward to my trip now and I'll start packing my backs right away so I'm not too stressed out in the eve of my trip (we'll see how that'll go! ;)

Well, I want to plan the next few weeks carefully so I can enjoy my time with the boys before the trip as well as the warm weather (it's winter in Brazil and it could be pretty cold there), and I also want to try to write my papers for the conferences there. Let's see how much blogging I'll be able to squeeze in.

The to-do list for today is:
- putting away stuff from last week's trip,
- piano teaching in NJ,
- some grocery shopping,
- practice with our musical group.

I think I should plan the next weeks so I can accomplish things. I'm a non-planner for daily life things (I can plan just fine for trips and such). Maybe it'll help me if I post to-do lists on the blog (I used to have a dissertation one on the side bar) and then cross the items out. If I decide to do it on a regular basis, please bear with me, OK?