A plume of steam floats away from an ethanol plant in Monroe, Wisconsin.

I finally fell asleep around 1:30 a.m.

I woke up again before.

I laid in bed for an hour before realizing I wasn’t going to fall back to sleep anytime soon.

There’s so much to do in this final week before I leave for Montana and it is just occurring to me. I think more than anything, though, I’m stressing a little for Steve (the cat). Poor guy doesn’t know what’s going to hit him soon.

Steve has never been much of a car cat. He hated his drive from the place he was born. He hated his first drive to the vet. And he hated every drive to the vet after that. To cause Steve as little stress as possible I am planning on leaving at 5 o’clock in the morning on the day of departure and driving straight through to Havre, Montana…18 hours away. It won’t give either of us much time to get acclimated to our new home in the wee hours of the following morning, but it will have to do. Now I just need to figure out how along the way he is going to eat, sleep, and go the bathroom…his three favorite activities.

I remember not wanting a cat. I really do. I complained, I protested, and I put up a fight. But we got a cat anyhow. Now she’s gone and the cat stays. Despite the fact moving day will be very stressful for both of us, I wouldn’t have it any other way.