Warning: Unsaved Game Will Be Lost - Continue?

Growing up as the eldest of three siblings, I had a first-row seat for the sometimes intense fighting that can take place between two younger brothers. Sometimes names like "stinky pants" were shouted defiantly. Sometimes the conflict escalated into physical violence followed by a tearful escape to mom.

And then there were the more creative ways of thumbing one's fraternal nose. One of the more antagonistic acts was to sneak up behind the unsuspecting brother who was deeply immersed in his video game and hit the reset button.

It was swift and shocking devastation, made all the more rewarding in that the perpetrator could get a running head start and be halfway up the stairs before the victim realized the drive-by resetting had even occurred.

And what a realization. All the lifepoints accumulated in that day's game - vanished. All the castle doors unlocked - cruelly slammed shut again. All progress towards the princess - undone.

Sigh. Feels a bit like someone hit the reset button on my life these days, and I've been brought right back to where I was one year ago.

As per our usual August, we are of course moving again. (The Husband is not nearly as enthusiastic about my procrastinate-until-the-last-second moving agenda, and so he is packing as I type.) I do enjoy the annual clean-up and sort a move provides, although I do sometimes wonder if a good spring cleaning might not be easier. New house = new neighbours to meet and new stomping grounds to have to learn.

In addition, to our surprise, the object of our move (i.e. get the kids into the public school) seems to be arriving sooner than we thought. We got a call yesterday that a spot has opened up for second grade in the public immersion school. So The Girl has a language/math skills assessment scheduled for Friday, the passing of which will grant her entrance.

Again, while this is what we want, the timing makes it a bit tough to swallow. We've all been prepping for the upcoming year at their current school, and there's lots we like about that plan. With less than three weeks before school starts, there's not a whole lot of time to negotiate a new school's before/after school care, transportation schedules, and school supplies plusthe minefield of a child's stormy emotions about leaving behind the familiar. While there's a possibility that The Boy will also get into the new school this year, we nevertheless need to prepare for the likelihood that we'll be a two-school family for awhile, so it's logistics x2!

So, new house, new school - feels a lot like I lost a lot of the ground I covered last year. To add to it all, I finally tried a Minneapolis hair stylist tonight. Until now, I've gotten away with sporadic visits to my fabulous Winnipeg stylist. The jury is still out on this one - personally, I think that a stylist should say more than 15 words in the course of two hours, but the colour looks good, so we'll see.

I know, I know - looks like I'm complaining about an embarrassment of riches: two houses, two schools, two stylists. I'm ashamed most days of how I manage to be disgruntled when surrounded by a life grander than the dreams of much of the world and one filled with more stability, security, and options than most people will access in their lives.

So, no complaining - just a tad weary that now I need to go and re-conquer several dragons and build up my life points yet again.