No Way! NO WAY!

These were the first words uttered by Miss M when she walked out onto the patio of our new home. See, our back yard is pretty much idyllic for a (almost) 9 year old girl. It has a nice, bright brick patio (that will have more furniture than the white resin chairs). Then, steps lead you up to a very shaded, very private space. There are trees lining the yard. Interspersed in the edges are various shrubs that flower pretty much continuously beginning with some golden forsythia, ranging through gardenias and now hydrangeas. I don't know WHAT the autumn will bring, but I do know the Japanese Maple will be brilliant. Birds are singing - REAL songbirds (which really aren't prevalent in Florida), and it's just so quiet and peaceful. There's hooks for a hammock, which I intend to install post haste upon getting moved.

And then Miss M found another fabulous feature to our yard. The neighborhood gaggle o' girls that seem to gravitate toward one another almost mythically. Within a few hours of Miss M's arrival, she already had a newbestfriend, H, who also has Crocs (though hers are a rather unfortunate shade of blue). Seems that H is a year ahead of Miss M in school, and she also LOVES American Girl books and such.

As for me?

Ah yes - my feelings. There's a Robert Earl Keane song called "I'm coming home". I've played it a lot lately, because it makes me happy. It makes me think about what I'm going back to, and it helps me cope with the challenges that still face me in the move that we're making.

Challenges? Yeah - there are a few. We can start with the fact that I remain without a job, which is rather stunning to me. I genuinely believed that I would have something lined up by this point. Then there's the house, which still has a good 8 to 10 hours of packing time remaining, and precious few days left to complete this task. Between working full days, a business trip next week, and a Sunday in the car with the kids getting them to my parents.... There's just not a lot of time left between now and when the movers arrive on June 23.

Let's not forget the nagging Federal PLUS loans application that needs to be completed. Tonight. Sigh.

But, at the end of the day, I know it's all worth it. I think back to the little black-headed girl spinning in the back yard saying "This is just the most awesome place ever!" And I think of Miss Baby and my niece, M&M, playing around with one another. Miss Baby, following M&M where ever she goes. M&M, leading the charge into trouble.... And I see my mom and dad, watching it all and smiling.

And I smile too. We're going home.