It's official

Friday was our swearing-in. I am now an official U.S. diplomat. We took the same oath on the first day of training, but as they say, "one for the dough, two for the show." Friday was a nice show. Families came from near and far to the State Department's main building downtown. I was grateful my husband was able to be there. Here is the oath I took. It was a true honor.

"I ________, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

I had to fight back tears while saying these words.

So after a week like that, I'm a bit exhausted. It doesn't help that our daughter woke at the crack of dawn today and yesterday, after we were up late learning about the DR. I know I'm not alone in researching our post like crazy, now that we know where we're going. Some of my colleagues are shipping out in March or April, so they have a ton to do quickly. We have more time, thankfully, though I know it will pass quickly.

I can't help researching and obsessing. It's what I do. But my mind is so filled with things, it's going into overload. I still have lots to logistics to handle from our move from NY to VA, let alone the move to another country. I just made a vow to myself to chill out and do it systematically. I have to update my move spreadsheet and I know that just writing it down will help.

It's just that every topic requires so much research. Banking. Communications. Electronics. A new car (I think we know what we want, but the logistics to get it purchased and shipped will surely be a pain). Even passports (D and M need new blue ones, everyone needs new black diplomatic ones, we finally got pp photos this wkend so now we just need to 1) mail D's, 2) go in person for M's, and then 3) apply for everyone's black ones). I am happy to say that my husband is taking on all the manly stuff- electronics, cars, and communications- and will research and present suggestions to me. Yay, D! I love you!

And then there's the doozy: schools. M will start kindergarten in the fall (!!). L will go to preschool, hopefully a Spanish-speaking one, and the great news about that is that there are apparently tons of affordable, great preschools. :)

[Oh. I forgot to tell you. When we told M on Flag Day that we were assigned to the DR and he'd be speaking Spanish, he burst into tears. He was hoping for Nassau, where his idol from Jonathan Bird's Blue World has spent some time (parents, get your kids these DVDs! They are awesome!) Also, he's become resistant to Spanish since he stopped Sp-speaking daycare 6 mos ago. But he only cried for a few minutes. FSI daycare has really helped in this regard. He is learning that everyone is going somewhere, and some of them will be learning Spanish like him.]

So anyway, the decision of which school to send him to is stressing me out. I know we don't have to decide tomorrow. In fact, we're told by families in the DR that we should wait until we get our housing assignment (likely much closer to our August arrival date) before choosing a school, because the crazy traffic can make certain schools a nightmare. We're just started learning about the schools. But it's overwhelming.

So, I'm off to make it less overwhelming for myself by making a list. That always helps.