Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"Dropping the Bomb" or "Sorry to tell you this way"

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you may know of this already but today we've told the children, so it is "final."

Paul and I are separating. I have an apartment downtown and we've got a visitation schedule set up for the children. We are considering this a "trial" separation. I'm confident that the separation of emotions and space will enable us to do some personal work and will allow me to identify what kind of life is best for me ... keeping in mind the children, of course.

If you email me directly, I will give you my new contact information.
Some of you might have questions or concerns you want to share with any or all of us. It will definitely (and already has been for weeks) be a trying and difficult transition for everyone involved. We'll try to keep to our regular schedule and strive for normalcy.

Actually, one of the biggest challenges so far -- believe it or not -- is Humphrey, our almost two year old dog. My apartment won't take pets, and Paul works very long hours and Humphrey just can't be crated for ten hours a day. No way, jose.

So, we're looking for a new home for him. It would be highly preferable if one of our friends (or a friend of a friend) adopted him, so that we could stay in contact and maybe even come visit! Here is the copy of the craigslist add I posted about him. Please let me know if you are interested in taking home our snuggle-bug.

And please don't worry too much about us. We have things logistically under control -- we'll just need our friends around us. :) And we thank you in advance for that.

Namaste!

Humphrey ad:

"My life is changing drastically this week. :( My "parents" are going through a separation and my "mom" is moving to an apartment where no pets are allowed. And my "dad" works so many hours, he'd have to crate me for ten hours some days.

"I'm a funny little dude. I love to snuggle on the couch and bed with my owner. But I also hang out in my own bed and usually sleep in my crate at night. I love walking at Mt. Pisgah and playing tug and fetch. I also ring a bell hanging on the back door when I want to go outside.

"I only bark when someone's at the door. And I get a little scared of new people that walk in the house. I'll bark at them for a couple minutes (sometimes with little hackles or putting my paws on them to stand up and get a good sniff), until they sit down or give me a treat. :) A good trick my "mom" does is if she knows someone new is coming over (especially a gathering of people), is to put me in my crate until they are in the house and have said hello and sat down. When they are lower to the ground like that, and relaxed, I'm let out of my crate and then I can say, 'Bark! Someone's here! Lemme smell.' I'll sniff their knees and fingertips and as I see them interacting with you comfortably, I'll start feeling less nervous and will bring my toys out to play with the new guest.

"The smoke alarm going off scares me to death! I shake and run and hide. :(

"I can bring my bed and my crate, along with collar and leashes and tie-downs. Also any meds (Frontline and such) that my 'mom' still has for me.

"I sure will miss my 'mom, dad, brother, and sister.' I'm really sad about that. They are, too. I've seen them crying about me leaving. It would be nice if you could let my family know about my life with you every once in awhile with an email. Maybe even they could visit once in a great while?

"By the way, my name is Humphrey."


3 comments:

HappyOrganist said...

Sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out. :/
The dog looks really cute. Hope things work out, there, as well.. My brother is recently getting a divorce, as well. really sucks.

Good luck to you.

Valerie Willman said...

Thank you for your support. Hard work ahead. But it's good for me. This is my opportunity to actually grow and be real about who I am instead of just *using* that catchy word: authentic.

Anonymous said...

it's really all about you