Meanwhile, across the hall...

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With shaking hands and a grin on her face, Rosalind clicked submit. She was now a full-fledged member of the Peace Corps. She would leave next week for Washington D.C. to start her training. Now she just had the task of breaking the news to her family.

She had gotten the idea two years ago, when one of her professors had mentioned it to her. Now a teacher herself, with a Masters in education, Rosalind had decided that she wanted to do more than just manage a classroom of 30 children for seven hours a day. She wanted to make a difference in people lives. That was when she had remembered the Peace Corps.

For the past seven months, she had been working with the Inspector General to get everything in order, but she had just received clearance today. She was going to D.C. for two weeks, and then to Africa. She would be working in a rural village, teaching the children and adults to read; both their native language and English. If things worked out, she would be there for three years.

And that was why she was worried to tell her family. She didn't have that many other ties that she had to worry about. Her friends from college would get it, and Anna would understand. She wasn't in any sort of relationship at the moment. She and Tommy had gone separate ways at eighteen, when he stayed in Cameron to take classes under her dad and Iantha, and she had gone out West. She had dated a few men at school, but nothing too serious. And so, the only people she had to worry about leaving behind were her family members.

Glancing at the clock, she decided that it was too late to break the news tonight. She would tell them, one at a time, in the morning. Shutting down her computer, she turned off the light and crawled into bed. One more week...

Early, the next morning...

Skye Penderwick awoke to the sound of her voice being called, softly. As she pried her eyes open, she was surrounded by nothing but darkness. Finally coming to her senses, she lifted her head from where it had been buried in her husband's teeshirt, and allowed her eyes to focus on her older sister, who was standing in the doorway. Seeing the worried look on her face she sat up in bed, and rubbed her eyes.

"Rosy? What's the matter?"

The lady in question shut the door, accidentally waking her brother-in-law in the process. He sat up next to Skye, and motioned for Rosalind to sit down.

"What's going on?"

Rosy took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. She had decided at she had better start with Skye and Jeffrey, because they were the least likely to sob and hug her or ask her if she was sure about her decision. And yet, she still wasn't sure how they would react. Sighing, she sat down at the foot of their bed, and took in their bedraggled yet concerned appearance. Gosh, was she going to miss them.

"I don't really know how to say this, but I've made a rather big decision."

Here she stopped, not knowing how to go on. Skye and Jeffery looked at each other, and then looked back at her.

"Okay..." When she didn't go on, Skye rolled her eyes and flopped back down on the bed. "For Pete's sake, Rosy! Are you going to tell us or aren't you?"

"I've joined the Peace Corps."

This brought her sister back up to a seated position. Jeffery, however, was the first to speak.

"Wow. Rosy, that's wonderful! Are you-" Here, Skye interrupted him.

"Of course she's sure, you moron! Why else would she do it?"

Rosalind watched in amusement as Jeffery looked at his wife, patently. He smiled slightly.

"You're right, of course, Skye. However, I was going to ask her if she was leaving soon, or if she would have to wait a while." His smile turned into a grin as Skye scowled at him.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" He chuckled.

"I was trying to."

"Oh."

"Anyways, Rosy, when do you leave?"

He winked at his wife and she glared. Rosalind laughed, thankful that they were taking the news so well.

"I leave to training in D.C. at the end of this week, and then I'm off to Namibia on September 15th. I really can't wait."

Skye grinned, and in an uncharacteristic display of affection, hugged her sister tightly.

"Rosy, that's awesome! I was wondering when you would come to your senses about traveling. How long will you be gone for? I've heard the projects usually last a few years."

"They do. If things go according to schedule, I'll be there for about 3 years. I can come home and visit a few times, but it's a pretty long way." Skye nodded.

"I think you're doing the right thing, Rosy. They need teachers like you in Namibia."

Just then, the call from downstairs came.

"Breakfast!"

In the bustle that followed, no one noticed Skye wiping a hand over her eyes to clear them. As much as she might hate to admit it, she was going to miss having her older sister around.

"Is writers's block a terminal illness?"

- Jane Penderwick.

Perhaps not in most cases, Jane, but in this story, I'm afraid it is going to be. :-( For me, the problem isn't so much the ideas. I have a ton of them, many courtesy of all of you. Where I have been running into issues is when I go and try and put them on paper.

In the past few chapters, the quality of writing has deteriorated immensely. This story is no longer that enjoyable or engaging. There is very little story line and very little of, well, anything. And so, I'm sorry to say, the chances of this story continuing are very slim.

I'm not going as far as to officially discontinue this story, (rapid and miraculous recoveries from this dreaded disease have been known to occur) but I thought you all deserved a fair warning, that it might be a while, perhaps all eternity, before I upload again. I'm sorry.

Thank you all for your reviews. They help me know whether or not this story is well received. There is nothing worse than an author of an awful story who thinks that they are the bee's knees. :-)

Randomsarcasm42 - Thanks for your concern. Hahaha. You know that you can reset your password, right? :-) I hope the above answers your questions.

RhaleysRhaleys - Thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

PS: My apologies for the dreadfully long author's note. :-(