Long Hiatus

Sometimes it's really hard to jump back into this thing after being gone from it for a while.

How about a bulleted entry to get right down to the main points?

• Had a full set of fake nails applied, or should I say installed, onto my fingertips and had a pedicure.
• Arranged for all of the animals in my life plus my parents' birds to be cared for adequately in our absence.
• Fielded a lot of obtrusive questions, advice, and observations from various family members.
• Packed up myself and the girls for a journey up north.
• Cried on the airplane on take-off and landing, not out of fear or anxiety, but out of wonder for how beautiful the world looks down below.
• Drove past both of my old houses in Bergen County and cried some more.
• Dined with friends and family and overall had a great time.
• Lost my rental car at the Garden State Plaza and completely went ape-shit before finding it in the correct parking garage. In the rain. And cold. Holding the baby in one arm and a bunch of shopping bags in the other. Perhaps I shed a tear or two during the ordeal.
• Woke up very early on the 28th and drove to East Stroudsburg where we managed to get totally dolled-up for the wedding.
• Wore fake eyelashes for the first time.
• Walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid.
• Had many ginger ale and vodkas.
• Decided that I really don't like Pabst Blue Ribbon.
• Lost a bag of important papers that I'd rather not talk about.
• Left the car seat in the rental car and figured it out that it was gone during my first attempt at checking luggage for the flight. I had to take the airtrain back to Hertz where I ran in like a maniac, not just crying but pretty much mentally decompensating, and begged them to go look for it now. The manager retrieved it for me fairly promptly and we made it back in time to check it in, change a diaper, and board the plane.
• Arrived home with both daughters, all of us in one piece.
• Obtained my dogs from the kennel.
• Had my fingernails shortened and re polished in order to be able to carry on with my life like a somewhat normal human being.
• Recovered from the various stressful events that occurred during the trip.
• Prepared Sadie for her homecoming dance.
• Nursed the baby through a bout of diarrhea.
• Moved all of my belongings to my new home in Spring Hill.
• Continue to live like an animal out of boxes and eating bad food while trying to sort everything out.

Each one of those bullets above could have been an entry in it's own right. I wish I would've just made myself write it down when it was fresh because each of them contains a story. I'm thinking in particular about the dinners with friends, the nails, the diarrhea, and the move.