Hard times

Sorry I haven't updated my blog much lately, but things haven't been so wonderful around here. Eric and I have officially decided to take a break from our relationship, after almost 8 years together. I have to admit this is one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced, and I'm having a pretty hard time with it. The upside is that we've been getting along great and are spending as much quality time together as we can. We both agree that we love each other very much and want this to work out at some point, but with my increasing unhappiness with living in Idaho, it just isn't working right now. So I'm going to Ohio to stay with my parents for a while, and Eric's going to stay with his parents until we can figure things out. I'm very grateful that we have such wonderful families who are willing and able to help us out! Fortunately we don't care to fight over belongings or anything, so dividing things up hasn't been too bad. I've gotten rid of a lot of my stuff, as I'm driving my Jeep Liberty across the country and can't fit everything in it. Eric's parents are letting me store a few boxes at their house until we can get them shipped to Ohio -- or until we figure things out. Everything else will get crammed into my Jeep for the long drive. I'm fortunate to have my mom coming out to ride/drive back with me, so I don't have to make the trip alone. She's flying into Salt Lake City (about 3 1/2 hours south of Rexburg) at 10:05 on Monday morning, where I'll pick her up at the airport, and then we'll be on our way. I don't know if I could do this without her. I'm hoping to make it to Cheyenne, WY or even further that day, but we'll see what kind of weather conditions we encounter. If everything goes as planned, we should be in Ohio on Wednesday night. I'll probably take a couple of days to recuperate, get settled in, and visit with my family and best friend, and then I'll start working for Mom the following week. I know that this is going to be a very difficult holiday season, and to be honest I'm not really looking forward to it at all right now. But hopefully my emotions will calm down before long, and I'll be able to appreciate the things I am blessed with. It's hard to do that in tough times, but I'm sure I'll get there. Eric and I haven't really established any "rules" for this whole thing...We're just going to take it day by day and see what happens. I want more than anything for Eric to be happy, and I want to find happiness for myself as well. I also hope to learn a lot from this humbling experience, as I think that's what we're supposed to do in difficult times. Well, I suppose I should stop rambling and get back to packing and cleaning. Please keep us in your thoughts.