Has it really been that long?

Seven years ago today, we stood in an empty house, waiting to hand over the keys to the new owners. Outside, the van and the Escort station wagon were filled to the brim with an eclectic assortment of items that we were going need right away or that didn’t make it into the moving van. After saying goodbye to Jimmy and Sarah at their grandma’s house, we hit road, just as the second snow storm of the day descended upon the area. My recollection of the drive to Ohio is pretty much a blur: slipping, sliding and skidding through Illinois and northwest Indiana; the snow/sleet turning to rain, heavy rain, relentlessly pounding on the car, keeping Fred on edge (he paced in the car for all but the last 30 miles of the trip) and adding to the surreal nature of the day; standing with the dogs outside a rest stop along I-80 (in Indiana, probably) in the rain, waiting for Jim; and relief when we finally tumbled into the extended stay hotel, about to begin a new chapter in our lives that we never imagined just a year earlier.