There's not much more to write, from here at least. Friday was the last day I got up and Jay drove me to work then picked me up from the station in the evening. That humdrum, normality won't be there again, at least not for a long time.
On Saturday Jay took Arto and Billy to the Midlands and the adventure begins. He returned with his mother on Sunday and they fly to San Francisco on Tuesday. It's difficult to imagine what happens beyond then.
The house has been so quiet since the dogs, particularly Scamper, left. My parents have been phoning in with status updates and in the background I can hear her shouting at the world and I miss her and Pip. I know we will see them all again but things will never be the same again. Most couples get to spend the pregnancy getting ready whereas our child has been 6,000 miles away so it's never seemed quite as real in a way. There have been no prenatal classes and no gradual sense of progress - every milestone is accompanied by the slight bump of an eleven hour flight. That said I was talking to a friend yesterday who said we were very prepared - her daughter was born at 30 weeks and she had nothing at all ready.
Thank you to all of you who have sent us messages of support and interest. We will of course keep you all informed in any way we can. It's not the end of the journey, it's really the beginning.
