FedAches

It has been one helluva week. I've spent the majority of my time either on the phone with a FedEx representative, in a FedEx store picking up supplies, taping and binding boxes for FedEx, waiting for FedEx to arrive, skyping with Armando to figure out how exactly to fill out customs forms and which FedEx number to call, or standing in my garage watching the loading or unloading of very heavy equipment that needs to be at Camp Walter in South Korea, like, yesterday.

I think about my parents' own small business -- the farm -- and have many memories of how hard they worked, no matter the season or the hour, to do what needed to be done, your own life be damned. It is quite apparent to me why not everyone has their own small business. The headaches never end. The worry never ends. The demands never end. It's like a special-needs child but without the unconditional love received in return.

But hey, it's Friday, I've just had a very nice chat with two friends who were kind enough to come over and provide some adult conversation over coffee, and Anika is actually napping. Armando arrives back from China tonight at 7 p.m. and all of that equipment is out of our garage and on its way to Camp Walter.

And we have a piano!! I haven't had the chance to express the utter love I feel for this work of art -- either on this blog or to anyone in general -- because I've been so flummoxed with the week of FedEx and teething woes and round ligament pain (don't ask, because you don't want to know). But it was delivered on Wednesday and it is absolutely deliciously wonderfully perfect. It has already weathered chocolate stains and cracker crumbs (nothing a little Windex doesn't fix) and it has Ani completely transfixed. She loves to press each "button" and hear the noise in return. This child, who destroys nearly every book or magazine or toy or piece of food that you give to her -- mostly because she likes to discover what happens when you do THIS, or THAT -- is absolutely meticulously careful with the piano. We may have a budding musician on our hands. I can tell you that little brother likes it when I play, and we couldn't be happier to have it as part of our household.

(Oh, and please excuse the TV in the background. We need to have the cable guys out here to move the outlet to its new home, and that hasn't been scheduled yet because we really should have some sort of a TV stand first.)