It’s true. I blog better without a husband.

Hmmm…maybe I should clarify. I blog better when my  husband is gone. Like away. And it’s only because I love him so much. That is also a true statement.

When he is around, I find myself enjoying his company whenever I can (i.e. when the children are asleep), and so I naturally spend much less time in front of my computer screen.

But when he is away (and the children are sleeping) what else do I have to do? (Other than clean.) If my friends don’t answer their phones because they are inevitably watching their own children or cleaning their own dirty dishes, then who else do I have to talk to other than me, my computer screen and you? Thus, I become a much more productive member of the blogging community when the hubs is gone.

So where is he?

In California. That’s right. It’s here. The big move has begun. Last Wednesday he left with my brother in the wee hours of the morning to drive 3,000 some miles to California! Two men, a dog, a twenty-six foot moving truck, and one Chevy Cavalier towed behind on a trailer. It must have been an adventure.

Even so, I am slightly jealous. As you may know, I am longing to drive across the country. However, the wiser, saner side of me knew that strapping two toddlers in their car seats for hours on end wouldn’t be anybody’s idea of a good time.

So, I stayed behind and lived vicariously through them. I kept a laminated map of the continental U.S. with me at all times and every few hours I texted saying things like:

“Where are you guys now?” “How is it going?” “How far are you going to make it tonight? “I think 80 is the best way to go” “Can you see the Rocky Mountains?” “What’s Wyoming like?” “Looks like you are going to drive through a really cool gorge” “Have you seen the Salt Flats yet?” “What were they like?” “Can you send me a picture?” “How’s Abby?” “What’s she doing?” “Do those vans get good gas mileage?” (What is with these Home Alone references? I can’t get away from them!!)

Alright, I wasn’t quite that obnoxious.

Anyway, they arrived safely in 3 days and six hours. They made one overnight stop at my sister’s in Missouri and drove the rest of the way non-stop, save a four-hour snooze at a rest stop. I was glad they made it quickly and safely, but I was a little sad that our journey had ended. It was time to fold up my laminated map.

In 10 days I will be on a plane with our boys headed West. Then we will officially be Californians! Isn’t that weird?

I will be, of course, sad to leave Virginia and all of our family and friends. But I am looking forward to having a house again and getting settled. If you don’t hear from me for a while, that’s what I’ll be doing. Unpacking. Settling in.

But no worries, Darrell will be as busy as ever working a gazillion hours getting the store in shape. So once my boxes are unpacked, I’m sure there are several more blogging nights ahead of me.

I guess there’s always a silver lining. Or at least laminated map.