Seize the day! No pressure but you deserve a good rest and some personal time!

Thanks Mark. Seizing the day is always a wise plan, even on the hard days.

The much neglected farm animals will get most of that personal time. I kinda wish I could do a river retreat, but time with my feather and fur buddies is always good medicine.

Methinks Donkey Odie is nearly ready to give me my first ride. That's his sexy nose in my avi pict. I've been training him to kiss like a human instead of bitie kissing like a donkey. Been wondering if he could be a candidate for a fund-raiser event called, "The Ass Kissing Booth." Just wondering. . .

The Ass Kissing Booth... haha!

Hope the respite gives you time and space to reset, re-energize, relax, or whatever you need.

I understand. I've experienced some really intense separation anxiety when it comes to my kids. I have found, in recent years, that the anticipation of them being gone is really the worst part. Once they're gone and I'm "in it", I have found the time alone has actually been really relaxing. I get to do the things I want to do... no compromising, no interruptions. And the doge loves that there are no rivals for my attention.

Sending positive thoughts and gentle support while you work through this.

And the Ass Kissing Booth is an amazing idea... It makes me smirk picturing it in my mind.

Here's to finding the relaxation and for making the time be the best for the other ones!

arfie, I know that your kids will be well if they've inherited your unique and excellent sense of humor. :) Most likely the kids may realize that the funny side of the maternal folks is missing and this will keep them thinking of you. I hope for them a great time with spring break too.

Now, I'm trying to figure this one-on-one kissing session with Donkey Odie. In my best sense of humor, seeing you straddled on top of Odie, giving kissings lessons, with his romantic and sexy nose (Um...hmm). :)

Q: What do you call a donkey that keeps time?

A: Hourgl-ass. (I could have done worst - just keeping it clean though.) I don't want that the hunter to get captured by the game :)

Enjoy your off time, arfie; you've earned a break!

Thank you for the most excellent name for ^it^, Brockster. "Separation Anxiety" definitely resonates with the emotional storm I'm feeling while I wait to see how the pick-up evolves. Having a name for ^it^ solves nothing, but a name makes ^it^ a cuss-load easier to talk about.

This is the third visitation under the court arbitrated settlement and the first since the final decree which released the children from CPS custody. I'm believing it is natural to be feeling anxious and trying to be patient with the process.

Sweet:
Donkeys are very social animals and show their affection with nips and bites. Odie is a REALLY affectionate critter. I've been trying to give him a more human social channel for that affectionate nature by grabbing his snout when he tries to bite me and kissing it.

Odie is not quite 3 years old. Still a bit premature for riding. A bit. May happen soon. The most common scene would be at his feeding trough, especially when I am holding a handful of alfalfa. Kissing a donkey snout feels rather like kissing suede leather.

Q: What insect can you see through?
A: A glasshopper.

arfie, thanks for ruining the image, lol! I'm teasing you. I find your sense of humor so refreshing. You could make raindrops seem like crystals and images are as happy as ordinary soap bubbles with you; you have great "punch lines" too! Most humans are glasshoppers by nature :)

I admire animal lovers. And recently I learned that you don't brush a sheepdog forward, you brush its fur backward, to give it more vitality. I envy that sheepdog.

Thank you very much...

More specifically, you brush fur with the grain, never against. On a long-haired dog, the vast majority of the grain runs front to back, top to bottom. It gets trickier with short-haired critters.

I'm getting some giggles out of imagining a donkey reaching a rider's lips. Does the world need another jackass yoga yami? Well. . . He might be the first.

Ha-ha-ha-ha! It is a giggle to think of it as a "yoga yami." And thanks for the clarification with the brushing. I have family and friends with pets, so it is good to know such things.

And the foster children are off. The pick-up was smooth and pleasant for all.

"Separation anxiety" still resonates as a reasonable explanation for why I haven't been able to evoke the traditional relief caretakers enjoy when their **bosses** are away. The 2.5 years of domestic, CPS and court drama attached to these orphans has been a serious challenge.

Processing. . . Hoping I'll achieve that vacation feel before they return.

I expect that the vacation moment will kick-in about two hours before the children return, arfie. It happened that way with my own kids as they went off on road trips with friends and grandparents, and the first day of school, and to the grocery store down the block...etc. (only then, while at the candy store, the "I'm free" feeling was within a few seconds before they returned)

Hi- When my son left for college, I was sad but after a few weeks I was OK and used my extra time to do things I enjoy. I volunteer and do some gardening.

Take care and use that time to relax. God bless.

Glad pick up went smoothly. Hope you're able to find some peace in their absence.

That right there, eli_mom, is something I'm really starting to struggle with. We are in the middle of college acceptance for my oldest and the thought my girl moving away is not a happy place.

I haven't found my way to peace yet, but summarizing the absence of peace as, "Separation Anxiety" has helped me normalize ^it^ far enough to calm the psychopations I'm feeling when hit with the traditional urgings to enjoy the vacation.

My youngest son, the father of my three orphans, left for college in Fall, 2002. I'm not all the way sure I remember what that felt like, but? ? ? Was it different? For sure the conversation flows differently with a 2 year old than an 18 year old.