The aftermath…

So how did it play out? Some days were better than others, that’s for sure.

Once Steve accepted the position in North Carolina and put in his resignation, we had one month to make a lot of things happen.

Steve and I were committed to letting Gabi finish her senior year at her current school. So that meant I would be staying in Wisconsin with the kids and the two dogs, while Steve and the two cats moved to North Carolina. It certainly was not our first choice to have the family separated for 9 months, but we thought it was for the best. To buffer the fallout from that decision, we thought it would be fun to have the kids and I travel with Steve when he moved, to help him get settled. We would make a vacation out of it, plus we really needed to get to know the area.

With that decided, we needed to get our house on the market. That in and of itself was a heartache. We had worked with Steve’s dad to design and build the house. It contained a lot of our blood, sweat and tears. It was our forever house. It was the only home the kids knew. Emotionally we all needed to separate ourselves from it. We had the wood floors polished, the carpets cleaned and I did quite a bit of painting, and finally it was ready.

Steve and I spent a lot of time planning the move of our household items, the pets, the autos… We also had contingency plans if something did not happen as we planned. My parents graciously agreed to have the kids, myself and our two dogs live with them if the house sold before we were ready to move.

One thing weighing heavily on us was our 10-year-old Golden Retriever, Harvey. He had ruptured both ACL’s in the past couple years and they healed with conservative measures, but he was 10 and his gait was poor. After we polished the wood floors, he started slipping and falling likely re-injuring one or both of the ACL’s. He needed a sling to help him up, to get outside and to just walk inside the house.  Steve’s parents lovingly agreed to keep Harvey in their carport, as it had a textured floor, for a few days so we could consult with our vet and come to terms with the only humane decision we could make. Harvey was so excited when he got out of the car at the vet’s office. Adrenaline helped him scratch and paw his way in the front door and then he stepped on the tile floor and went down for the last time. Steve had to carry him to the exam room.  The kids and Lucy (our Cavapoo) were also there. Oh my gosh, it was so sad.

The house was listed a few days later.

We had accomplished all the tasks we set out to before Steve had to leave. It was an emotional roller coaster for all of us. Steve was packed up, the route to North Carolina mapped out, and a long-term stay hotel booked for us to stay in until he could find an apartment close to the hospital. Lucy, our other dog, would stay behind with my parents. We loaded the two cats in their carriers and loaded Steve’s things in our two cars and were on our way.

What were we thinking, right? I had asked myself that many times that month and in the months to come.