Stress, heartache and snow

They all have a little do to with the other. It really is crazy. We are really stressed these past few days. Between knowing that a daunting drive is ahead of us, or that everything we've known is behind us. It's stressful. On top of that Northern MN (where we're hiding for now) is slated to be hit with snow in rather large proportions. Great. Just great. But I'm sure this is not the worst that we will see, so we'll trudge forward, hoping for good roads and some peace.

It's been a fun, crazy, sad last few days. We rang in 2009 with two of my oldest friends. We had so much fun that I had a hard time recovering on Thursday. But the laughter and memories of old, and some new, will carry us along our journey. It's always nice to just be. A couple cocktails, some good and not-s0-good music, and a lot of road ahead. It was great.

Thursday brought more goodbyes. My older brother and his wife took their day off to come and say good bye. It was so nice of them to brave the snowy roads and winter weather. It was short, but sweet, and we're hoping they plan a trip to see us in Alaska.

Today was filled with more visitors. My younger brother, his girlfriend, and Hondo (his dog) came by to say Hi. Again another long drive on wintery roads, but I guess we should all be used to that by now. I managed to get out with Ches some and play in the snow. It was fun to just watch her run. I kept instructing her to "hunt 'em up" and hunt she did. I think the best thing she may have found was her ball, but she was happy.

And now, the anticipation, nervousness, excitement are all starting to set in. It's nearly 1 a.m. and I'm having a hard time finding sleep. It's quiet, so I decided to write and get it off my chest.

I will miss everyone. But I'm really going to miss my dad. We talked nearly every day, and while his advice is sometimes annoying, I will miss it, and him. I know with distance, long distance and the time change we won't talk as much. That's going to be tough.