To Nest or Not to Nest

Inspirational song: Major Tom (Peter Schilling)

Well, best I can tell, the countdown is on. More than a week ago, I got an email saying our background checks came back clean. My Rotary friends said that someone called them for references. I wrote to the youth exchange coordinator, but I may have used the address she doesn’t check very often. I just wanted someone to say yes, it has been decided, and you are getting the exchange student for the final two months of her term. I caught her attention at the end of Rotary today, and asked her whether anyone had confirmed it with her, and she said yes, people have been talking to her as if the whole thing is settled.

I have resisted doing any real nesting, until the official word came down. I will need to acquire some additional storage furniture for the guest bedroom, mainly because I have so many clothes (a sad by-product of gaining and losing so much weight so often, that I keep almost complete wardrobes in five sizes). I’m torn between buying a new small dresser either from a brick and mortar store locally or ordering off of something like Overstock or Wayfair. The other option is scouring the thrift shops and Restore, but I have no time or energy to refinish something in a condition other than “like new.” I need to reorganize the linen closet in the hall outside of what will be her bedroom, so she can find things she needs. And I suspect I will cave in to the impulse to buy her brand new towels, and maybe a new shower curtain and bathmat.

I invited her over for dinner on one of our game nights, so she could meet everyone. I want her to know what she’s getting into. She gets to go on a vacation to Hawaii with the other exchange students next week, so we aren’t sure whether she will come over or be panic-packing like I would be. Her sister comes to visit the week after that, so I will probably have a hard time getting penciled in on her calendar. 

Now that it’s starting to feel real, I am anxious and nervous and so excited. She’s a sweet girl, and I want her to be happy here. I think we are the right host family to round out her American experience. My answer is clear. It’s time to nest.