Cats and existence

Moving van loaded!

We made it to Minnesota uneventfully.  A little rain and construction in Iowa (of course) and lots of fun jabs at each other during the loading and unloading process.  I say fun in a way that in no way should actually be interpreted as "fun".  I'm not sure how my parents managed moving an entire home and two children every two years.  I am already dreading moving our stuff out of my mother's basement.

So now the entire sum of my existence has been relegated to two suitcases just barely clocking in under the required 50 lbs.  Life is heavy.


Our cat, Dara is staying with my mother until we determine A. whether we want to stay for several years in Japan and B. when my mother is coming to visit and could bring her.  She has been such a trooper, bravely riding in the moving van unfazed with the exception of Iowa.  However, transitions like this are difficult for a

Dara's opinion of Iowa

cat, and she suffered post-traumatic stress yesterday by hiding all day in the boxes and under the stairs.  When we lost her under the stairs, I lost it myself.  

There is no one person I feel guilty about leaving, because they all have a support system and some ability to take care of themselves.  Egotistically, I feel the most guilt about "abandoning" our cat, and have had a very difficult time resigning myself to the fact that I will not see her and when I do, she may not be the same cat I know now.  She has much anxiety around people, and unfortunately, has been babied excessively.  She is doing fine here while we are around, but I worry what she will do when we are gone and she is left alone in the basement.

I know she is in good hands, and my Mother is excited and willing to take care of her.  I remember when my cousin was married and his bride threatened to cancel their wedding because her cats were missing.  We all thought she was a crazy person and my cousin was doomed (sorry guys:).  However, now I understand exactly what she was feeling, as the only thing that could keep me from going overseas is the guilt I feel every time Dara looks at me and meows.

Crazy brides ain't got nothing on crazy JET's
preparing to leave the country

It's also a strange feeling to be leaving the country, because I sort of feel like I'm living out my life in a movie like Men in Black or James Bond. Though I still have my social security number, I have slowly been "erasing" my existence here in the U.S.  I have no home, job, phone, insurance, or car here anymore.  It's an odd sort of limbo before I establish myself in Japan that unconsciously tugs a little bit at the mind.