Getting ready for the big trip...

So, on Monday we leave for Italy for a week. I am getting really excited. Danyel and I love Italy. It is such a romantic and beautiful place. It almost feels like another planet. The culture is so rich and the food and wine is to die for. Life is so different there. People live to live instead of living to work. Everything and everyone moves at a slower pace.

This week I have been busy preparing for the trip - mostly for leaving Carsten... in a physical sense like packing, but also emotionally. The thing that makes it less nerve-racking for me to leave him, is being thoroughly prepared... making sure I have everything packed for him and making tip sheets for his caregivers (Amy & my Mom). These sheets contain important contacts, eating tips, favorite foods, sleeping tips, typical eating and sleeping schedule, medicine dosage info if necessary, etc. My hope is that the information makes them more prepared and aware of what to expect and how to handle certain situations. But, I made the list just as much for my own self assurance.

Danyel is also working on a will that will outline our intended caregiver for Carsten if something, God forbid, should happen to us. It also includes the intended disbursement of our life insurance and assets for Carsten's benefit. It is a much more encompassing project than I expected it to be. Luckily, we agreed right away on an intended caregiver for Carsten. Then we had to decide whether to ask who we had chosen or to just have it in the will. In order to avoid unnecessary hurt feelings amongst family and friends, we decided to keep it to ourselves. But, then we had to come up with a contingent caregiver in case our first choice couldn't or didn't want to take on the responsibility. The contingent choice was a little more difficult. He felt strongly about his choice, so I compromised. Of course, this conclusion was not made without some heated debate. It's kind of a scary thing to think about all this, but we feel it is necessary before we take off around the world.

Anyways, it is going to be tough to leave our little buddy, but once we are there, I will be so grateful for the time alone with Danyel. I am sure that we will be having such an amazing time that we will be distracted from missing him too much.

When we return, I will have lots of pictures and experiences to share, so be prepared! :-)