Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Saying Goodbye is Bittersweet

Time for Chloee to live where she is supposed to live.  With her Daddy, and her new Mommy.  Plain fact and truth.  Did it make it any easier for me to say goodbye?  Actually........... yes.  Still hard, don't get me wrong - I already miss that little turd, but watching her be where she should and wants to be is a HUGE blessing!

After our sleep night out on the tramp, we loaded up early, Chloee said goodbye to her uncle's and future aunts and we hit the road.

bye tuffy and 'antana

bye wookie

GAH!!!


biggest squeeze ever!

 Splenda made the wise choice of actually sleeping at home in bed so he was alert and ready for the long drive. 

We made a potty break in Scipio and what did we find?  A petting zoo!  Talk about a nice way to break up the trip a little bit





this little guy had such a thing for her!  He wanted to be petted and loved on!



We made it to St George and stopped for a nice lunch with our besties the Bland's.  They were there heading out for a cruise the next day, so it was fun to catch them down there and break bread.

We then loaded a movie in the laptop and headed out across the hot, loooooong desert.  I will state for the record right now.  I HATE THAT DRIVE!  Okay, the Virgin River gorge is pretty, but once you get past that, I pretty much wanted to spork my eyes out.  Chloee?  A champ!  Seriously the best traveler kid I have ever seen.  And I drove my kids across that desert lots of times.  She is the bomb.com!


Vegas got us some gas, some drinks, some stretching of the legs and a potty break, then it was back in the car and more boooorrrrrring desert.  Not until you come around to San Bernadino does it get visually appealing again.

We cruised into Camp Pendleton and only after a little hassle from a Marine that was ticked he was working the weekend, we finally pulled into Corb and Kar's place.  Tired, hungry and wanting to be out of the car like you wouldn't even imagine!

But OH......to see Chloee's face light up when she saw her parents!!!!  So priceless.  So wonderful!

We ordered a pizza - unloaded her entire life and basically relaxed.  They have a great air mattress and it never felt better to stretch out and make my body long again!

Sunday morning (my actual birthday) - they made it so special for me!  A special breakfast and more presents!




We spent the next several hours just chillin and relaxing.  Watching and playing with Chloee and enjoying her settle right in.




Later in the afternoon, we headed to Oceanside and the pier for lunch.  How GORGEOUS!


The restaurant is an old style burger joint called Ruby's














After the nice meal on the pier and watching the waves and fisherman, it was time to head back and for Splenda and I to head home.

I promised not to cry and I didn't.  How could I when she looked so dang happy?
At least I waited until we pulled away to cry.  How can you be so happy for her and feel so sad for yourself?  I'll work through it.

Splenda and I decided to bust straight through.  I introduced him to the wonder, of Satan's sauce; Crack in a can ; the wonderful Low-Carb Monster.  Yeah, they carried us through until we pulled in to SLC at 4:15am

We've had a skype session that was fun and I am frantically trying to work it out so that we can go back labor day weekend.  We miss her terribly, but know that she is exactly where she should be.  Now, we go back to finding some sort of new normal and plot how we can spoil her rotten!!

**thankfully Kar has started a blog so we can keep up on all the Chloee adventures http://karscorner.blogspot.com

22 comments:

" Hit It......." said...

I am sad for you and happy for Corb and Karalee. I know how attached you are to Chloe'. :(

Karalee will be a great mom. Do you mind if I check out her blog? I worry about that little girl.

Jewls said...

totally teared up! I went and stalked the other blog, cute, cute family!

Annette Lyon said...

This post is pretty much the definition of bittersweet. Happy yet heartbreaking all at once.

What a WONDERFUL grandma you are!

mintifresh said...

What a hard trip to make!

PS-I <3 Oceanside, Rudy's and fishing off that pier!!

gigi said...

You are darling with that cute hair cut! Chloee does look very happy! I would have cried all the way home and then do exactly as you will do, spoil her rotten!! Keeping you all n my prayers for good times ahead! Go Cat Go!

Connie said...

Is this what they call joyful misery?
She looks right at home in her daddy's arms.

That was quite the burger you had on your birthday! Loved the hat!

Hope you can get there over Labor Day. (sigh)

CB said...

Ah man - I was so torn reading this post! You have been there for her -you got her through - she got your through. She is where she needs to be but I think you both are going to have a few sad days missing each other!
One thing I know is that you and Chloee will have one of the strongest G-ma/G-daughter bonds forever!!

P.S. LOVE your new doo!!!

CB said...

P.S.S.

Noticed your Diet Dr. Pepper for your breakfast drink - LOL!!!

P.S.S.S. Rubys is seriously awesome - I love that place!!

Vanessa said...

Yes. Very bittersweet. Look how happy she is! But, I'm sure those quiet moments will bring some tears. Hang in there.


MMMM, Ruby's!

Becca said...

My heart breaks for you and I can't imagine how much you miss her. Heck, I will miss her. I love your posts about her and about how much fun you have together and I know that no matter how far away she is, you two share a bond that will never be broken! You are such a good woman and your whole family is so lucky to have you!

CountessLaurie said...

You done good, mama...

*sniff*

just call me jo said...

Parting is such sweet sorrow. You're a brave lady. Chloee is a lucky little lady to have so many people who love her. Wonderful pictures and memories.

Sue said...

You did exactly what you needed to do when times were tuff. What a wonderful grandma you have been and will continue to be for Chloee. The precious memories will always be there.

Love your new hair cut.

Anonymous said...

very sweet post. you are such a neat lady. that little girl is very lucky to have you in her life:)

tammy said...

Happy sad....so hard. I hope everyone will be happy and that you get to visit a lot!!

wendy said...

First off........I am sad I missed your birthday. I would have called you or something. Hope it was a good one, gonna go down and read the birthday post after this.

I can certainly imagine it WAS bittersweet to have Chloe leave. But, as you said, she needs to be with her daddy, and I hope her new mom will love her to death.
I can imagine you will go through lots of different emotions right now.
God certainly placed her in good hands up to now...you and Splenda were her anchor for awhile.

It made me think of this last while after my daughter Emma left (after visitin me for 10 days) with her 2 girls. It was hectic for sure.
and after they were gone, we woke up one morning and hubby said.....it is nice to not be woke up early in the morning with the pitter patter of little feet.
I said
No.......not actually. That sound is of the ones I love and I will surely miss them now they are gone.
such is life eh

hugs

wendy said...

oh yeah...I love that photo of you and your hubs
and your hair cut is awesome
I wish I could wear short hair

val said...

i'm teary eyed reading this post. bittersweet is the perfect way to describe this. what a sweet little girl she is and so lucky to have you and dave in her life. hope the adjustment is going well for everyone!

Mae Rae said...

absolutely LOVE the new do! I am sad and happy for you at the same time.

Teachinfourth said...

M-Cat...you are the bom, woman! I'm proud of you. You were brave.

And the hat from Ruby's? You were sporting it like nothing else with the new do. I swear, you could have been an employee and I'd have never known the difference.

Rock it.

Pedaling said...

it was the best of times
it was the worst of times....
and so it goes.

such troopers!

I'm craving for a little Ruby's!

DesertHen said...

Okay...sniff! Happy and sad all at the same time! (((Big Hugs)))

Love the haircut!