One step nearer

It has been an emotional day for me. We handed our beloved dog back to the breeder, where he will reside (and be pampered and spoilt) for the next three and a half months.
The lovely lady we bought him from seems very happy to have him back at home with her for a while - she did hand rear him, after all. We are grateful for her generosity, but I have serious concerns that on our return, he may turn his nose up at us and not want to come home....
His removal means that we can tidy the patio, and theoretically, it will remain tidy until we go. One step closer to feeling like the place is ready for us to head off. Meantime the house remains in an everchanging state of chaos. I think it was Phyllis Diller who said that, "Cleaning your house when the kids are still at home, is like shovelling the drive when it is still snowing". I hear you Phyllis. I hear you.
Yesterday it was two weeks exactly until we depart, and i estimate that we have organised approximately one third of our accommodation! Maybe this is why I feel strangely emotional a lot of the time....or maybe it is the fear that i keep having of being on the London Underground and not being able to get all three kids off the train at the station before the door shuts, whisking one of them away to who knows where with who knows whom. Sigh. Either way, the days keep flicking past and I know that as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, we will be boarding a plane before we know it....and everything will be alright.
Our bags will be packed, we will have our passports and our toothbrushes...it is just that the housesitter may not find things as neat as I would like, you see, it just keeps snowing.....