Back At the Ranch

After dropping off Carol and returning home, Ryan gathered up his laptop and headed for home so that he could get some shut-eye.

And I decided to clean Ariana's room, now that she was gone and not returning.

Oh! The mess!

I filled 3 garbage bags. And that was not counting the 4th bag that I removed from the shop vac.

I was wondering why the shop vac wasn't working as well as it should have been ~ why it was sucking in a bad way instead of sucking in a good way.

After removing the top of the shop vac canister, I discovered the culprits.

First of all, there was a large wad of crumpled up paper blocking the elbow joint to which the vacuum hose was attached.

The second matter was that the air filter was absolutely clogged with thick clumps of fur and tons of dust and dirt. God! It wasn't just dirt. It was soil. And there was so much of it that I could have put it into a flower pot and planted seeds.

Anyhow, once I cleaned out the obstruction and the air filter, the shop vac sucked in a good way.

After vacuuming Ariana's rug, I sprayed it with pet odor neutralizer, especially since Attila had been teaching the little kitten his alternative litter box ways.

Kitty piddle and poop everywhere!

I also did 3 - 4 loads of laundry from all the stuff I collected in Ariana's room and the chill room as well.

In between cleaning and blogging, Ariana would call to let me know about her progress.

First she called from Charlotte, North Carolina. Next from Dallas, Texas. And finally from Lubbock.

She had already met Neil at the airport, picked up her luggage, and was riding in his car.

She couldn't talk too long because Neil needed to listen to the directions on his GPS.

Wow!

A chapter has ended here and a new one started in Texas.

Yes, Ariana is now in Texas, over 2000 miles away from here.

The house is quiet.

Yet, I think it may take awhile before I get used to her absence and accept that I will no longer hear her coming through the front door, thunk-thunk-thunking across the living room floor and up the stairs.

Just like I stared at the spot where my stolen laptop used to sit, expecting it to reappear any minute, I'm sitting behind the keyboard waiting to hear the opening and closing of car doors and hear Ariana walking into the house.

Just like I had to accept that my laptop was stolen and that I will never see it again, I have to accept that Ariana will not be coming back.

However, the one thing that I don't have to accept is that I will never see her again.

I will indeed see her again.

God willing, soon I hope.