How can it POSSIBLY take 13 hours to get from Munich to Addis??

I'm going to Germany for business this weekend, and I'll be there for 10 days. So I'm thinking to myself  "I'll fly to Addis next weekend and see our baby!" (I mean, how far can it be...a 5-6 hour flight, just over the Mediterranean sea, right?) NO! The shortest flight route including layovers, is 12 hours and 45 minutes!! That seems SO unfair! I mean, I'll be half way to my baby, but I'm still 13 hours (not including drive to airport, etc) away! This bums me out.

So a few of you asked the details on THE CALL. Here it is. (I will never, for as long as I live, forget it - biggest surprise of my life.)

It was a little more than a week ago. I was in my office working on goals with one of my employees, Lisa. (Who, it just so happens, I was with when I found out Nepal had shut down.) My cell phone rang. Since I can't focus on one thing at a time, I look down at my phone. I should be focusing on Lisa and goals! But I notice that the area code is 503 - where our agency is. (Our agency has a policy that once your paperwork is accepted in Ethiopia they won't call you until THE CALL so you don't have to see the caller ID and wonder.) So in a quarter of a second I think "Hmmm... that's agency area code, I should be focusing on Lisa's goals, it must be a sales call or vendor call, but wait - that actually looks like the agency phone number, not just the area code, but why would they be calling me? This is weird. I think I'll just check real quick". Seriously - a quarter of a second - maybe a half, to process all of that. I look at Lisa and say: "This might be the agency, I think I should take it." She nods, I'm sure just a tiny bit frustrated with my inability to focus.

 **Keep in mind we're not expecting THE CALL until late summer, if ever (see last 24 posts...) I didn't think we'd get THE CALL, so was moving on with my "Career Girl" plans.

Back to the story - so I say "Hi, this is Anne."And our agency rep said "Hi Anne, this is Julie", (Instantly, by the tone of her voice, I knew) "we need to get Terry on the phone." I started crying (hard). I looked at Lisa, Lisa somehow knows already and is crying. I said, through hyper-ventilating sobs: "Are (sob) you calling (sob) to tell me we (sob) have a referral?" And she said "I am!" I start crying harder, Lisa does too. Julie disconnects me to get Terry on the phone. Lisa steps out.

I put my head on my desk and cry a loud, ugly cry, hoping no one outside of my office can hear/see me. Both Julie and I are trying to get a hold of Terry, who I finally get on the phone (within 3-4 minutes which felt like 15 minutes) and blurt out: "We (sob) have (sob) a (sob) referral!" He's like "Whaat??" I repeat myself "We (sob) have (sob) a (sob) referral, CALL JULIE!! Call me back!" (Because there is NO WAY I can dial the phone right now.) He says "Oh shit!" and hangs up. I wait for what seems like eons and we're finally all on the phone. She says "What do you want to know?" And I said "Everything!" And then we learned we have a beautiful son. Terry remained on the call, I hung up after hearing name/age/sex (who hangs up on their referral call??) I had to get home. I couldn't remember my boss's name to call him and tell him I had to leave. I went and hugged Lisa, who know has the important place in our history as being the second person in the world to find out we had a baby, even before Terry. (LIsa, I am so glad it was you in my office!) And I left the office still in a very ugly cry, I mean a sobbing, primal cry (thank God I somehow slipped past everyone!) to go home to my husband, my dog and my baby son.

It was awesome. I tear up every time I tell the story. I know. Lots of crying mentioned here. That's just how it was.

Oh. How. Wonderful. To. Get. THE CALL.