Hello all,

Thanks for the great support. I appreciate it.

I'm on the road -- alone. The Doc didn't follow my printed example that I downloaded from a link I found here. When the letter was written up, she left a lot out and then had her nurse sign it. She then left on vacation, so there was no way to get another in time for me to leave. So, without a current letter, and this one's grossly inadequate to begin with, I had to leave dear Charumati at a ferret foster mom's place for boarding.

I'm driving alone.

To make matters worse, my GPS unit went on the fritz, and I'm off my planned route to get it replaced. So, I'm having quite a time keeping myself calm and in condition to drive. That slows things down quite a bit. Thank goodness for anti-anxiety meds, but I still need to stay clear headed to drive safely. It's a delicate balance. I'm trying to just keep the edge off, and white-knuckle it along. Judging by the reactions of people around me, I must be blending into traffic well enough.

I really didn't truly appreciate all that my little ferret does for me, but will certainly never try to travel without her again!

I've missed the alarm every morning since she's been gone, and have had to scramble to get checked out of the motels before the 11am departure requirements. Well, at least we know my body's adrenaline factory works. (wink) So much for my usual 10 hour driving days.

Past trips were always easier because Charumati woke me up and helped me get moving in the morning, as well as the natural calming affect of having an animal along.

The stress of having her along without the necessary papers would have been so much worse, as I'd have obsessed over the high likelihood that she would be confiscated and killed. At least I have the calming knowledge that she's staying with a ferret-knowledgeable woman.

Well, off to another day of driving. I can already see that this trip is going to be days longer than it would have. I'm never going to do this alone again!

Thanks, for listening.

Jeanne