Considering how infrequently I’ve been blogging lately, I feel a little silly posting a “going on vacation” blog.

We’re in a hotel now, completely moved out of our condo. Everything that’s not with us is in a nearby storage facility. This afternoon, we board a flight for Atlanta, GA. This is a vacation planned and paid for months ago, long before we even considered the possibility of moving. We’re going to relax around Atlanta for a few days, then we’re heading to Camp Yofi in Clayton, GA.

Camp Yofi is a 5 day family camp for Jewish families with a child with Autism. There are activities for the whole family of course, but they also have separate tracks for siblings and parents. It’s a wonderful way for us to have a “normal” experience while at the same time acknowledging that we, as a family with a child with special needs, have more difficulty doing just that.

We get back on Monday, August 25th. Then we’re driving from the airport in Philadelphia to my Mom’s house in New York. We’ll stay there overnight, then Eric and I head back to New Jersey early Tuesday morning to close on both the sale of the condo and the purchase of our new home. The girls will stay with my Mom until Labor Day weekend. I’ll take Wednesday and Thursday to get organized (furniture and appliance deliveries, register the girls for school, clean up) and then our stuff is coming back from storage on August 29. Emily starts school on September 3, and Laini starts on September 8. Whew! Gonna be a crazy week.

Obviously, I’m taking my computer with me. First because I don’t have a home to leave it in, and second because I’m very nervous about being away the week before closings. If anything needs to be done, I can do it as long as I have my MacBook Pro. I’m going to try really hard not to even glance at my work-related email for the week. I set vacation auto-responders on both accounts (C3 & WWD) and I disabled them from pushing to the iPhone. I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I made a serious attempt to disconnect from work. I just won’t think about the avalanche that will await me when I return until I return.

Finally, I received some good news the other day. After reviewing Laini’s records and having all the necessary conversations, the Child Study Team at the school district we’re moving to agrees that the private special needs school Laini attended last year on our dime is the appropriate placement for her. That means that they not only support the placement and will work with us on her IEP, but they will pick up the bill and provide a bus for her. This is such a relief on so many levels. Financially, of course. But also emotionally, knowing that in the end, I think we made the right choices.