11 days in arizona: a report

Shame on me. No pictures? Well, my hard drive croaked.

I feel like a hard-drive crash is something that only happens in theory, not in real life. Turns out, it's real. So go back up your photos. Right now. Then come back for my hearty hello from sunny Arizona.

Back already? Hello!

If you ever move to Phoenix in April, you may notice...

  • Arizonans seem to measure their time here in summers...
...like Game of Thrones characters measure their lives in winters. "This will be my 5th year here. Get ready. Summer is coming..." 
  • Warm weather means more people exercise?
So many people around here look like they're fresh off the best, most active summer of their life. Toned. Sunglassed. Wearing footwear they can run in. Maybe this is only partly true. Either way, I'm waking from a winter hibernation I didn't realize I was in.

Christopher's fabulous stepmom took me on a 5-mile hike, which feels like a good place to start.
  • The Apple Store rocks.
I'm sure this is true of Apple stores in general, anywhere in the country. But I hold a special place in my heart for this particular Apple store, where I was told that in a month, my laptop will be considered "vintage."

I'm especially grateful for a certain subdued, detail-oriented genius who spent two hours and all his genius tricks saving nearly every last picture of my baby girl that I thought I'd lost. (Rock on, Type 2's. If you and I have ever talked about Energy Profiling, you may know what I mean.)
  • People show up when you need them. 
By the end of last week, Claire's whining had become insufferable. She needs friends—or she loses it. And I could only draw so many pictures of the friends she left behind and use silly voices to pretend they were talking to her.

We'd already seen random kids at the park down the street about six times, but yesterday, I got her dressed and told her that this was the day we would meet some real friends. And some woman invited us to a massive play group where we moms sat on blankets and talked about summer (it's coming...) and they put me on their mom-group email list.

When the two of us came home after play group today, my baby was singing to herself again.

So far, so good. I'll let you know when summer arrives.

4 comments:

Genevieve Beck said...

Yes, time in this state is very much measured by summers--you're truly considered integrated until you've been through one. Enjoy the next few weeks!
The reason people look like they've been exercising is because people exercise in the winter here and we're coming to the point that it may be warm, but still doable. When we start venturing into May, it will only be the truly hardcore that don't move their workouts inside.
I hope there is a wonderful nursery for your baby! May you all make wonderful friends soon! Wish you were closer, but great to have you in the state!

Unknown said...

We're in Mesa. And Genevieve is right. We're at the point in the year where we live outside simply because it won't be possible very soon. It's like everyone goes into hibernation. You don't see your neighbors, and then all the kids on your street look older come October when everyone ventures out again.

Bryson and Tara said...

I love how Claire is such a social creature. That's great that you're part of a play group now!

And I'm so glad you were able to get all your pics from your computer. What a nightmare!

Spencer said...

Yes, Arizona, land of friends. Life is great under the sun.