So, Is Summer Going Quickly or What?

Holy crap!  It is the last full week of July already.  I mean, where the heck has the summer gone?  I think I know.  It's been at the physical therapist's office!  And the doctor's office!  And in the car! And in Arizona!  And Hannibal!  And St. Louis!  And soon it will be in Manhattan!


There it is, my summer in a nutshell.  I have been busy, just not always doing what I want.  (There is a very heavy pout on my face.  I am 4.)

I was able to take a long trip.  And when I say long, I mean about 3 weeks.  After some meaningful family gathering in Hannibal and St. Louis, I accompanied my sister and niece to Phoenix.  By car. Again.  To help her move. Again.

This moving somebody thing is becoming kind of a summer tradition.  It all started with helping my daughter move back from being the Aquatic Director at a camp in New Jersey at the end of the summer of 2009.  We then moved her to St. Louis where she stayed put for the record breaking time of about 3 months.  Then she flew off to California and the land of Orange with 2 suitcases, a backpack, her pillows and a blankie.  Of course, she needed her car, so my husband and I took it out to her.  It was absolutely packed to the gills.  Translation:  we couldn't see squat out of the rear view mirror.  The side mirrors became very important.  When they got covered with slush going through the Rockies, we had to pull over and clean them with snow.  I swear to God!

Flash ahead to the summer of 2011, I helped my sister move to Phoenix, then continued on to Orange County, CA and helped my daughter move to Maryland (yup, you heard me right).  My butt put in 5500 miles.

Then last summer I helped the same daughter move back to the Heartland.  Remember the cube?

Now this summer, because I was adrift with absolutely nothing to do, I offered to help my sister move from Phoenix to right here on the good ole Mississippi.  That's just how I roll.

I forgot how hard it is to move.  All that annoying packing.  And taping.  And wrapping.  And trying to figure out what to do next and is it all going to fit and will we finish before the movers come? Oh, and speaking of taping, I wasn't allowed to do that.  I have a disability working those tape thingys.  I can't tear off the tape without dragging it two feet past where I wanted to tear it off.  My sister banned me from the tape.

We did manage to fit in a movie, a little shopping, some major swimming and some food.  I love Phoenix.  I will miss Phoenix.  I will miss the friends that I made there.  Luckily, those friends have invited me to come visit.  I just hope they don't want to move.