I have this photo so I figured I would post it. Plus, it served as an impetus to get back to the keyboard and keep writing. That’s us on the front porch of the house we’re renting in Hollywood. In case you can’t tell it’s yellow. Really. Yellow.

We’re happy here and we’re finally getting out from under the move. We’re about 75% of the way unpacked, we’re learning our way around the neighborhood, we’ve made some friends in the shul, the kids and I have been to school for a week and, so far, the tropical storms and hurricanes have been mild. (No, I’m not kidding.)

Today is Sunday – our second here that was not Tisha B’Av – and we had a nice, relaxed afternoon. We spent the morning in the pool then went out to lunch at one of the thousands of Israeli-owned felafel places in the area. We then headed out to Dania Beach to let the kids walk in the Atlantic since we realized that we had lived here for three weeks and they still hadn’t seen the ocean.

We returned, tired and sandy, back to the house for an evening of laundry, homework and tuna noodle casserole. Normal.

Tomorrow is back to school for what we hope will be a complete week of classes. Real life is happening and, after the summer and the move, I’m looking forward to it.