At long last...

Well, this is almost it, kids. We're about 60 hours from leaving Twentynine Palms for good. We've been frantically throwing stuff out, sorting and organizing, packing and fretting all day. Tomorrow the movers arrive to start the real packing.

I keep hearing the "Beverly Hillbillies" theme song running through my head. I keep trying to figure out a cute way to adapt it to our situation, but I'm having some trouble. I was never much of a lyricist anyway. The most important part is "loaded up the truck and moved the family" anyway.

Desperate to get away from the chaos that is moving, I took William and his grandmother, Mama Dee, to the pool on base this afternoon.
















William got to say goodbye to his friend Madison. He's known Madison longer than just about anyone else. They've both grown so much over the past year that it's almost hard to believe. We'll miss Madison.




















And before we have to dismantle his crib and pack away all his stuff, William is getting one last night's sleep in his room tonight. Here he is with his daddy, hamming it up while they read "Goodnight Moon."


















The thought that we are leaving this house has made me a little nostalgic. It's not that I really love this house, but we brought William home from the hospital to this house. This is his very first home. So far, it's been his only home. This is what he knows. This is the house where we became parents. Leaving means that we're moving on, and William is growing up. So, while that's good, definitely good, it's also made me a little reflective. William will likely never see his first house. Yet, this is the house where we first got to know him and love him.

Four years. It's been four years to the day that we arrived here. Back then, it was just David and me. I think I cried. It was hot, blazingly, searingly hot, and I remember being in a breathless shock from the unfamiliar heat. We cowered inside in the air-conditioning and ordered pizza from Papa John's the first night in this house. We ate it while sitting on the bare floor, since our furniture was still in transit. And I tried not to think about how long we'd have to live here. And now we're done. We arrived around Independence Day in 2003, and now we're celebrating our new independence by getting the heck out of Dodge on Independence Day in 2007.

And, oh, are we ready to be in Nashville at long last! The trees, the grass, the family close by, the Targets close by! This will likely be my last blog posting for a few days, as we begin the Great Journey East. I envision myself a latter-day Laura Ingalls, only my covered wagon is a Mazda Protege with satellite radio. Instead of nibbling on stale sourdough biscuits, William and I'll likely be downing some Cheez-Its and Ritz crackers. And hopefully, God willing, we'll cover more than about 15 miles a day. We're shooting for a final arrival in the country music capital on Sunday. We're going to veer off and check out the Grand Canyon first, but then we'll probably drive straight on.

Hope everyone has a great Fourth of July. I'll try to check email and comments here when we stop for the nights along the way, so drop me a line and say "hi."