Yep, our house has been a flurry of packing and our living room, dining room and foyer now have been partially usurped as staging areas.

The similarities to packing for Pennsic do not escape me. At least it is only a 20 minute drive.

I am feeling much better about the whole move. Maybe it is just the swing of the pendulum, but Hey...I'll go with it. :-) In fact, there are several little ironies that have brought me to the realization that maybe the move is a "really good thing" and I may actually come to appreciate it.

In the process I have come to some new truths and revisited old ones.

1) Teenagers are oblivious to the impact of their change on others. Very egocentric little beings....and if I reach way back I can remember being that way too...right up to the time I gave birth and realized that even more than in marriage, my needs would now defer to another's for what seems like a lifetime.

2) This is also the age of expectation not so much as appreciation. Not that they do not feel appreciative, but they really don't get the whole impact so of course they take a lot for granted and really do not even see it.

3) You can pack a gazillion size 0-2 clothes in one suitcase but that doesn't mean anything when you compare the space taken up by furniture, linens, electronics and other needs that must be packed and transported. We are now up to three suitcases, an overnighter, a duffle bag, a rubbermaid, two large boxes, a fridge, a wooden trunk, two shelving units and a shoe shelf....

4) Some people honestly do not care if their birthdays are celebrated on or even near their birthdays. This one is SO FOREIGN to me that I am having to go on trust here but apparently it is so. Yes, I will need some support next Monday.

5) Just about the time you think you may just slam them into the car and drop them off early because you cannot believe you have raised an ungrateful wretch...they do something so sweet, so caring that your heart melts anew.

6) An eighteen year-old who knows herself enough to have great instincts but who needs you enough to run ideas past you is a beautiful, reassuring thing.

It doesn't hurt that she asked if she could take Les's robe to school (she is always stealing it instead of wearing her own) because it will feel more like home.

Travel safely everyone.