Couldn't have made it without....

"There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings." ~Hodding Carter, Jr.

Leaving my family was by far the hardest thing I've ever done.  It doesn't matter what needed to be done, my family was there to help me move all my stuff to storage, run errands, provide Bella and I with a home for the last week, and much more.  The late-night talks, games and wine helped to destressify my hectic days until departure.  Without their support, there is no way I'd be sane at this point.  

 Many people believed I was crazy, of course, for bringing Bella, my cat, with me.  They may have been right, but she was a trooper for over 15 hours stuck in a tinny little living space.  The greatest trouble came when I occasionally let her stretch in the airplane bathrooms and her not wanting to be squashed again in the carrier.  It would take me at least ten minutes to shove her head back into the carrier, and that was only after dealing with splayed legs and claws.