Three cats and a dog.

I finally did it!  I made the decision with the help of my husband and some coaxing from a fellow player’s wife, to leave my stable life in Miami in exchange for a life on the road.  For some weeks now, I had this undeniable feeling in my gut that the time had arrived for me to shake things up in order to create positive change and individual growth.  With a year of marriage behind me, I realize that I need to approach 2012 differently and instead of continuing with the same patterns and maintaining a long-distance marriage, I need to take this show on the road.

Moving myself will not be all that difficult.  I will sell or store all my furniture and donate any clothes and shoes I don’t absolutely need and adopt a refreshingly liberating new lifestyle.  I will learn to travel as a minimalist with only the bare essentials and of course my three cats and dog.   The latter part of that sentence is what really had me on the fence about moving.   I have this close connection to my rescue animals and I believe wholeheartedly that when you own pets they are as much your responsibility as your children would be.    When I adopted my four furry babies, I made a promise to give them the best life they could have and never, EVER, give them away or undermine the importance of their lives in priority of mine.

I have discussed the idea of leaving them temporarily with my parents until my life with David settles down enough that we can buy a house in the city where he will play each season.  This idea sounded ok for a bit but the thought of leaving them behind, when they are as attached to me as I am to them, seemed wrong.  Aside from that I prefer to not burden my parents with that responsibility.   The obvious choice and only choice I can make is to take them with me.
If I only had a dog or even two dogs, I would not be as worried about the 2 day trip as I am with my three cats.    For those of you who have never owned a cat, they are not as easy to travel with if not conditioned from a very early age.   Cats tend to get stressed from minor changes and uprooting our lives would be anything but minor.   When I can make pit stops to exercise and let my 70 lb American Bulldog/Labrador Mix use the potty, I can’t do the same for the cats.   They will have to stay in carriers the entire car ride until we make it to a pet-friendly hotel where they will be able to eat, potty and unwind from what I am sure will be a very stressful cat day.

I am still figuring everything out logistically but I am sure all will work itself out.   I have about a month and a half before I take the long journey to the unknown but I am at peace with my decision and until then I will enjoy the time I have left in Miami.