Long-distance Relationship

I just dropped the love of my life off at the San Jose airport for his flight back to Dallas. Due to my new job, we are relocating to San Jose - but, of course, we have complicating factors preventing a complete move right now.  See, we have three dogs and two cats, so it is hard to find a rental home.  Also, my oldest daughter is getting married on 4-20-13 (and no comments on 4-20 please) and is in her senior year of college back in Dallas.  So we cannot sell the house there until at least May of 2013.  Oh - and to save money, effort, and resources - when I  moved to San Jose, my daughter did not renew the lease on her apartment and moved back in - with her dog and two cats (one of which is a family cat she took with her).

For the first two months, I commuted a week or so here and a week or so home on the company dime.  But as of June, I have a one bedroom apartment in San Jose that costs more than my house note in Texas.  Now, my husband tries to visit me for two weeks or so each month and I try to make it to Dallas for a long week-end monthly.

For the record: I am not really happy with the long-distance relationship, but for the first time in my life I am kinda sorta living on my own.  I did bring an elderly cat with me that we had recently adopted from the pound. She is 10, was 18 pounds, and had been the sole animal companion for two ladies her whole life.  I can only imagine what trauma or circumstances would cause someone to voluntarily give her up, but she was lucky enough that we discovered her.  But she is not so happy with sharing living quarters with three other cats and four dogs. neither am I.  So she and I live a quiet, sedate life together in sunny California.

But I miss my husband.  I miss my kids.  Yes, we are technically empty nesters, but my whole life has been spent taking care of others - I even turned it into a career as a nurse.  Then I realized I needed a mental job, not a physical one, but we can talk about that another time.

So as I think about it, maybe this is not such a bad thing.  I only have me and the cat (KC) to feed and clean up after.  Everything is on my schedule and the menu is my choice.  I miss my husband - I married him because I like him.  I miss my kids.  I raised them because I liked them as people, long after I loved them as progeny.  I love my elderly dogs (they are all 12).  and mixed in with all that love is concern for their welfare.  But I like the time I have to  me as well.  Perhaps there is something to that wisdom - absence makes the heart grow fonder.  We'll see how this goes.  Stay tuned.