And we're off!

No late pullback this time from GEB ... looks like the match is a go! It had better be -- we'll be on the road in a few hours.

Random thoughts:

-- Having not done a road trip with an infant in oh, nearly 7 years, I had forgotten how much stuff you have to pack for them. It's even worse than hauling along puppy gear! (Just make sure you're set with diapers or poop bags, depending on the species.)

-- I have the sweetest husband in the world for rearranging his schedule to come along, to save me from a solo road trip with infant and 6-year-old. A big MWAH to him. (Although part of me thinks he's just paranoid that Andrew and I might come home with a puppy from the CDC tour ... just kidding, honey.)

-- From the how not to behave file: Our RC sent an email reminding everyone to not grab the dog and take off with it for a walk. What?? Yes, sadly, apparently at least one raiser has done this at graduation. Yikes. I'm trying to be charitable here, but wow.

-- This time, the scrapbook for Nettie's owner has been done for several days. Longtime readers may remember that Murphy's got finished at 1 a.m. on the day of graduation, on the hotel room bathroom floor while my son slept in the room. :-) You do get wiser as you get older.

-- Mostly I'm just excited for Nettie and her owner. Nettie was such a pleasure to have in our lives -- well, almost all of the time, but that's true for any pup or kid.
What always stood out about Nettie was how much she liked to think and to work. We believed from the time we first babysat her that she was probably going to be a guide, and it's a thrill to be proven right and to see it happen.

I'm still taking the Kleenex, though.