Road Jes Traveled

I've written this a million times in my head and now as I sit down to type it out, my mind is blank. I don't know where to begin. I don't know how to tell my story without boring you with every painful dramatic detail. I'll try to keep this short. We were discussing where we would move once we transferred back to the mainland. Tension was high. Moving from an island to the mainland is stressful. Not having jobs or a home lined up is even more stressful. Looking back, I'm sure that we took our stress out on each other. We were all that we had.  Mid-conversation he blurted out, "I can't do this anymore." Me: "Do what?" Moments that felt like eternity passed and then he said it. "I want a divorce." Divorce. I was speechless. I couldn't put words together. I was spinning. Where was this coming from? How did this happen? Surely he was just emotional and didn't really mean it, right? This was coming from the guy w

Dear Friends, I am writing this, with a heavy heart, not only to update you but also to save me the heartbreak of telling this story over and over again. On Thursday, July 31st, 2014, I got home from work around 6:30 pm. I found Duke sitting in the corner of my room, which was unusual. He was happy to see me but didn't move much. I jumped on the bed so I could love on him (our usual after-work ritual) but he didn't jump up after me. He attempted to but could barely lift himself. I sat on the floor with him and he sat on my lap and rubbed up against me. He just wanted to be loved. I tried running around the house but he wouldn't chase after me like he usually does. I gave him treats which he happily ate, but he wouldn't jump for them. When Stella got home, she met us outside. He did a little jog to get to her. He was so excited to see her that he jumped on her but immediately cried out in pain. We got back inside and he could barely lift himself onto t