And we away we go, speeding through it…

And just like that we moved on to a new adventure. We shook off all of those mixed feelings and sought the comfort of friends and family. Awkwardly navigating in a 30-foot beast through bay area traffic, we sped to Fresno for our first stop. And, as the road has a tendency to bring up a test or two, for our first quick fire challenge, our 18-year-old cat set us up for a good one. Frozen by the movement in back of the RV and unable to make his way to his cat box with all of the jostling, Toby lost his bowels all over the RV bed and my favorite jean jacket.
​
By the time we stopped for dinner late into the night, it became apparent that Toby had encountered a situation, until now, that he would have never even imagined. While in transit, I had heard him extensively mewing in the back as our sleeping bags and several others items found themselves shifting back and forth. But, being that he’s an old geezer, mewing like this is not uncommon, so I chalked it up to a typical response to a new situation. Once I had discovered what had actually transpired, I tried to hold back a barrage of cursing and being only moderately successful, I thanked god that our RV had a shower.  As we deftly held Toby in the shower and slathered him with Head and Shoulders, I have to admit it, I felt a little traumatized by the event both for me as well as him. 

But as we lumbered into Scott and Anne’s driveway in Fresno, as haggard as we may have been, we were instantly enveloped in an oasis of good food, laughter, hospitality and a pool reminiscent of a hotel in the tropics.  The next day as the kids alternated between pool and Ping-Pong and we sipped cocktails, I started to feel it… the release. I let go of the all of the anxiety and stress from painful goodbyes, packing up our lives, moving, and transition. I realized that we were beginning anew and what better place to start than here. I could’ve stayed in that moment for days, but by early afternoon, we had packed up and were headed to San Diego to greet more friends and family, and possibly a little mischief as well. 

---