Adventures in House-Hopping

I don't know about you, but I think living in one place for more than a few months is overkill. See, we lived in St. Louis when I was born. But after six months I got a little stir crazy. So I convinced my parents to move to Atlanta and buy a house there. My very practical father thought this was a little sudden (especially since I was so young), but finally consented.

¹Atlanta was great. I went swimming almost every day, and learned so much there — crawling, walking, climbing, and how to speak a few words ("mama" and "dada"). I even met a look-alike friend named Molly, who let me ride in her aqua-mobile. But nine months passed, and I began itching for that sweet Missouri humidity once more. My poor father and mother put up a fight, dwelling mostly on the fact that we were homeowners and it's foolish to sell a house so soon after purchasing it. However, I had my sights set on the farm where Daddy grew up. Yes, I could smell the bacon several states away.

²Odessa was even better! We spent our days visiting the piggies, feeding the farm kitties, eating tons of popcorn, and learning about Jesus and Mary at the church. Plus, I got very acquainted with Daddy's parents (Grandpa & Grandma Stein). They treated me very well, played lots of games with me, and even changed a few of my diapers. But our farm euphoria couldn't last forever, because after six months I had the overwhelming desire to get back to my roots. Despite Dad's reluctance to leave his roots behind, we packed up the car and made our way back to St. Louis.

³Not having sold the house in Georgia (looks like Dad was right on that one), we had to live with some friends. I requested the Hochschilds, since they have a baby boy my age, named Maxwell. Oh, the fun we had! Maxwell reminds me a lot of bubbles — I always really want them, but when I get the chance to play with them, I'm suddenly uninterested. Okay, so we had some great moments. Who can forget me pushing him down, yanking on his toys, or bossing him around. Yeah, there wasn't enough room for the both of us, so this time I thought we better go full circle and live with Mommy's parents (Oma & Opa Casper).

⁴Well Dad finally decided to find an apartment here in St. Louis while we continue praying for a buyer for our house. While he was searching, I had fun feeding the dogs, playing with "little people," and watching Opa manipulate photographs and Oma give piano lessons. Oma and Opa let us sleep in the pink room, which of course is very exciting for me. They call it the "honeymoon suite," but I don't understand what that means.

⁵When he finally found our apartment, Dad told me how happy he was to have our own place again. We have settled into South City St. Louis pretty well, I have lots of room to play, we're close to some really nice parks, and our landlord has a small-sized kiddie pool in they backyard — oh yeah, I go swimming in it every day.

We're pretty cozy, but don't tell Dad — in about six months, I'm going to think of some creative way to move again!