For a over a week, Julie and I were without the kids. It was a bizarre-o turn into a world where we weren’t parents. It was a reminder of who were as individuals and a couple. And to be honest, it was a reminder of why we became parents. Our family is a stronger as a unit of four than as a unit of two. I knew this of course, but the past two years caused me to de-internalize it. Not having them around was a good way to re-internalize that–hey! I like my kids. Whew!

Julie couldn’t take the time off, so I flew down to Kentucky to retrieve them by myself. They didn’t want to come home because both of them are like they’re dad. They adapt well to any situation–especially ones that include Paw Patrol while breakfast is being made.

Then in a little over a day, the bad news kept rolling.

The timing of this had been planned for months, but Julie had to tell someone who takes everything personally, something that we knew they’d take personally even though the decision was the furthest thing from a personal decision that we could make. That’s purposefully vague in case this person reads this at some point (Person: I promise this had nothing to do with you! We love you so much and trust you with everything we have!). But what we knew would happen, happened: the person didn’t take it well and forced Julie out before any kind of explanation could be given. Not being surprised at the outcome didn’t take the sting away from it. I hope and pray we’ll come out of this. But at this low point, there’s a long way to go.

Life goes on and as such, the oldest member of our family– Bella, the 14 year-old dog– is fading fast. This wasn’t news to us, but since it was time for her annual vet appointment, all of our fears got rolled into an hour-long session. The vet did their best– giving us lot’s of options to try– but it’s beyond evident what needs to happen. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Doing our patriotic duty to contribute to the nation-wide wave, I popped a positive COVID test this morning. I’m thankfully only mildly symptomatic and no one else is (yet) testing positive, but what grand timing! Just as soon as we all get back together, we’re again forced apart.

So as I type this from the cheapest hotel room I could book with points within 10 miles, the writer in me tries to weave a narrative through all of these events. But, I’m consciously pushing back on doing that. Sometimes this happens and then that happens.