The Middle Passage

What could be better than sitting alone in the wee hours, sipping coffee and reading the blogs? This is the fourth time I've started an entry here, only to be interrupted by the mayhem as usual. Hopefully, I can make it to the publish button this time.
So, once again, the best of the recent news is that Brother #1 stopped in for a few days last week. He was in New Mexico for some kind of anti-terrorist training, and took a 4-day layover to hang out in Cactus Town with us. I had tried to make some plans, maybe drive up to the mountains and get out of the hellish desert heat, but he nixed all that, and we spent most of the time hanging out in the house, or "The Resort," as he calls it, watching the FIFA games on the Mexican channels. So that was easy. It was great having him here, actually. I guess I forget how nice it is to have another adult around, especially one who can make pleasant small talk, and is up for a movie or a trip to the supermarket.
The plan for today is to load up the van and drive 5 hours to pick up my daughter, Sweet Child, from Girl Scout Camp. I predict the first words out of her mouth will be an accusatory "Why didn't I get any letters or emails??? I was the ONLY one!" Sigh.
I'm looking forward to seeing her though. Then another 2 hours back to the hotel in Phoenix. So, all in all a long day's journey.
These are the days to cherish, I think. A road trip with all three kids together, with a clean hotel bed at the end of the day. Beautiful Girl is almost 15, Sweet Child is 12. There are only a few more years of this. The Boy starts Kinder this fall, so I do get a kind of childhood's coda.