My poor blog. How I've abandoned you during the past several weeks.

I should have gotten in touch, I know that. It was selfish of me not to call...

So what can I say. When I last wrote, I was getting ready to spend the summer in Virginia with the family. We successfully flew back, settled into my house, had my mom and stepdad to visit... then things got a little crazy. My stepdad wound up in the hospital here in Virginia - twice. In the meantime, the rest of us went to Pittsburgh for my brother-in-law's wedding (congratulations, Phil and Raquel!) which was wonderful, but stressful since I was worried about my mom back in Virginia. Once we made it home, I drove them back to Michigan, then flew back to Virginia once they were safe and sound.

In the middle of all of this was the usual swim team/catching up with friends madness, which I love. It's so nice to have a community to come back to here in the US. But I feel like I'm completely unable to touch base with everyone I want to see. So it's great fun, while being it's own special brand of stress.

This week, I really want to focus on the important things - seeing friends, being present for my kids, and enjoying the little moments. Because summer is already slipping through my fingers, and August 21 is quickly approaching (hello, England!)

On a side note, it truly has been the "summer of logistics". While the above was going on, I didn't even mention the shipment of household goods that we sent to the UK, the truckload of stuff that went to the river house, the fact that we've decided to rent out our main family home - so we need to empty it by mid-August, the maintenance work to be scheduled, selling off furniture we don't need, and an entire host of other middling details that slip through my brain on a regular basis.

My fabulous husband is handling the pack out in Brussels this week and next. Until that's done, I refuse to think about the day I meet the moving van at our new house in Surrey...