8 Cats + 4 Dogs + 7 Humans = Gratitude!!! By Sarah Raplee

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We recently sold our acreage in the Northern Cascade foothills of Oregon, our home of ten years, and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The acreage had become too much work for us to keep up with, and the cost of living and housing in Oregon had become too much for a couple facing retirement.

Our youngest son, Galen, and his family lived in Astoria, Oregon, a beautiful town on the coast. But we couldn’t afford to buy a house there, and their three-story Victorian with two dozen steps leading up to the front door was not workable for two seventy-somethings with arthritis.

Our eldest son, Micah, and his family urged us to come live with them in their big, modern house in the country outside Cedar Rapids. They had plenty of room, as their children were grown.

One of our oldest granddaughters and her family, including our only great-grandchildren, lived about forty-five minutes north in Waterloo. Micah’s oldest daughter and her fiancée lived three hours away in Rochester, Minnesota, and they were expecting a baby. Micah’s oldest son and his girlfriend lived in Ankeny, two hours away. The younger son lived at home while working in the family business, and the younger daughter and her fiancée were living temporarily in the walkout basement of Micah’s home while they remodeled the home they had bought nearby. They hoped to be moved by Christmas.

We could live in two upstairs rooms for a month or two, then move downstairs while looking for a new home, or permanently if we found we liked the arrangements. They even offered to put in a stairlift if we needed one.

We’d lived in Cedar Rapids previously for twenty-one years. Then my husband’s employer transferred him to Oregon. Six months later, our youngest son and his family moved to Astoria. We got to see their kids grow up over fourteen years, but now their youngest was thirteen.

With Micah’s help, we quickly found a buyer for our acreage .Within six weeks, with the help of both son’s families, we got the POD packed and drove to Iowa with two dogs and a cat in tow.

Lucky and Petey are Friends Now

We were a little apprehensive about how our pets would adjust to the drive, and then the new living arrangements. They’ve done really well. It’s taken a month, but the cat has found his place among the five other upstairs cats and the two downstairs cats. The two big Australian shepherd pups are very rambunctious, so we keep the dogs apart. Mac is getting better about not barking at and/or chasing the cats. Petey has made friends with two of them. Both dogs have come to realize this house is their new home and Micah’s family are part of our “pack”.

Although we miss Galen’s family, my husband and I are very thankful things have worked out so well. We can afford to make trips to Oregon, and Galen’s family makes trips to Iowa at least every other year. We are settling in and looking forward to Thanksgiving, when we will see all grandkids and the great-grands. 

Our hearts overflow with gratitude!!!