Miss You Already

Last night, I was browsing through photos online of the apartment complex where I live, and sure enough, I was getting a little misty knowing that our residency here is shortly coming to an end. Especially as a dog owner, I know just about every corner of the complex, and I couldn't help but look at the different photos and immediately conjure up several memories of me and Brooklyn walking that specific path, or her playing with the neighborhood dogs in that specific patch of grass, etc. And now, even though K is home, I find myself willingly still walking the dog and the baby together, because it has become somewhat of a ritual, especially in the mornings, like a daily cup of coffee. Yesterday, during our morning stroll, I was stopped by a really nice, young woman who lives in a different building in the complex and always sees me in the mornings and takes the time to see how I am doing, and how the baby is. She has a daughter, about 3 years old, and from what I can tell, they live alone. On this specific occasion, she was sans daughter and relaxing in the pool before the real heat set in. I was telling her about how we were moving back to NY, to which she replied, "YEAH!!!" Then noting my hesitation, she asked if this was a good thing, and I told her it was, but that I was definitely going to miss the quality of life out here - mind you, we are having this discussion as she is lazing in the POOL - OKAY?! And she agreed with me about the quality of life, but also agreed with me that there just isn't much out here, and that, my friends, is the sad fact. Great quality of life, but not much in the way of soul, spirit or culture. Kudos to Xing for having the initiative to forage and make a life that has some culture and spreads beyond the monotony of The Strip, because that is what it takes out here, real initiative and pro-activity. The nice woman is from Oklahoma originally, and she said she doesn't prefer Vegas over Oklahoma - and that just about says it all.

I just finished booking our flights to NY for our final departure from Vegas - even Brooklyn is booked! That is going to be an interesting flight with baby and dog on the plane - and an interesting blog entry, I am sure. The packing is still touch and go, I SO want to just do everything in one fell swoop, but that is impossible. So, I just have to pat myself on the back every time I manage to actually pack a box, just so I don't get discouraged. As it is, the baby is napping in his play yard (we'll see how long he stays asleep) and I should be taking this time to continue the packing. Oh, okay...bye for now.