My work day got cut short, and the Boss didn’t put up a fight at all. I called him at 3:30 and told him I wanted to get out, and he said, “Go.” That was that. Whatever he might have wanted to work on until all hours today will have to wait for another day, maybe even Monday.

You see, the thing is, Tammy and David are moving. And when they decide to do something big like making a move, it suddenly becomes everybody’s priority. I think they made the decision about a week ago, and today? Bang! Zoom! Moved.

Well, not completely, until tomorrow. But it’s been a whirlwind, and although I’m not much good at carrying boxes, I do okay at keeping the kids out of the way while everyone else is doing the heavy lifting. The few things I did lift went straight to my back, and I tweaked both wrists, but I didn’t tell anybody. I just stopped doing it.

So I listened to D.J.’s endless stories about dinosaurs and Jedi masters, until somehow the entire Star Wars cosmology became a whirling meteor shower that made my brain extinct. I remember him asking me what happened to the cave men, and I think I told him that since we live in houses now, they don’t call us cave men any more. Oddly enough, that seemed to satisfy him.

We also tossed the basketball back and forth for a while, until he decided that the object of the game was to throw it so it was impossible for me to catch. I tried to explain to him that “catch” isn’t that kind of game, and everything doesn’t have to be about getting an advantage. He wasn’t buying it, so I stopped playing.

Dakota amused himself, as usual, but tested the limits. There was a crack on the driveway that he wasn’t supposed to go past, and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from pushing the boundary. Finally, we made up a game, where he came rolling down the drive sitting on the back of his toy dump truck, and I stopped him just as he got to the line. Then I pushed him back up the driveway, and we did it again. And again and again.

For the most part, the boys were on good behavior. It’s hard to be perfect when you’re so excited about a new house and a new room and new friends. D.J. had a very emotional last day at his old school, but he has people who will be looking out for his needs at the new school where he starts Monday. In the car tonight, as he looked at the stars, he told me he could see his friends (and his girlfriend) up there.

Aiden was of course everywhere at once, cracking jokes and imitating his brothers. You can’t say anything without having him repeat it. (He thinks Uncle Mike says, “What do I do?” Just ask him and he’ll tell you. “Uncle Mike says, ‘What do I do?’ Just like the cat says “meow” and the cow goes “moo.”)

Kylie was either sound asleep or wide awake. How she slept through all the commotion I don’t know, but when she’s awake she opens her eyes wide and takes in everything. Some day she’s going to tell us all what she thinks of us. For now, she has other ways of letting us know.