We didn't expect to return to Kentucky until September of 2022 but life doesn't always go as planned and sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches. Our original plan was to have James fly out with his Mom to Kentucky in September and get her all set up. Then he would fly back and get a rental truck and we would make our final journey home arriving the first week of October. We had not worked out who would drive the animals or the rental truck but we had dates and tickets were booked.

After arriving back in California we were glued to the cameras we had installed. We were keeping a close eye on the guy we had hired and hoping he would follow through with all his promises. We also watched some amazing lightning storms and even got to see lightening bugs. We were full of hope at first as we watched him laying floor down and he kept in contact with us about what he was doing. He had asked for money down in order to get the job started and maybe we should have noticed more red flags. However the want and need of having our home ready to be moved into by September maybe clouded our judgment.

It hadn't been but a couple weeks out when I started to have a gut feeling about this guy not being as honest as we thought. He seemed to be putting on a show for where he knew the cameras were situated. He messaged me about a leak and then didn't want to finish installing the new floor because of it. He wouldn't send me a picture of the leak and then we saw him taking some of the supplies off the property. Our anxiety grew and after all this he started saying he could not do anymore work until we paid him even more money. At this point I was done trusting and knew this guy was not what we thought. I was afraid if I refused what he might do to the property so I played along with his plea and told him the check was in the mail. I immediatly booked a one way plane ticket for James to head back to the farm and fire this man and find someone that would do the job.

I remember clearly the drive to the airport as it happend to be on Mothers Day. James and I do everything together and so in our 12 years of marriage we had never really been apart. However I was currently working at the Water Company so I would have my 25 years retirement when we moved and someone needed to ship packages for The Soap Shack. It was decided I would stay home take care of his Mom and our buisness and keep working. He would go and make sure we had a place to live in October. His ticket was a one way ticket as we were not really sure how long it would take to find someone else that could pick up where this other guy left off. I wished him well and cried on the way home as this wasn't part of the plan. However life doesn't always go as planned and you always have to make adjustments along the way. We would have plenty of time together when we were living our dream.

We both had alot of anxiety as we had no idea how this guy would react to James pulling up and then having to fire him. James plane was supposed to get him to Lexington Sunday night and I had a room and a rental car reserved so he could head to the farm early Monday morning. He had a layover in Dallas Texas and in order to catch his next flight he really needed to hustle. Again what you have planned doesn't always work out the way you planned it. The plane he needed to unboard could not get the doors to open so everyone was stuck and many people missed their adjoining flights that night. They comped him a room in Dallas as the next flight out was at 6am.

He still managed to get to the farm Monday but it was late in the day and I needed the guy to be there so that he could have the talk with him. I let the guy know James would be there anytime and needed to speak to him in person. I remember watching the whole thing unfold on the outside camera and the man was very angry but he sped off and we did our best to forget him and forgive him as what was done was done there was no going back and changing the decisions we had made. We could only move forward on what needed to still be done at this point. James talked to some locals and they were going to put the word out about this man. It took me a little longer to forgive then it took James but holding onto anger does nothing but hurt yourself so let it go is what we needed to do.

When you are not used to being apart you really don't realize how much your partner does and how much you depend on them. I was packing up orders and cooking dinners for his Mom and feeding animals all by myself plus going to work everyday. We were on a differnt time zone as well but that didn't stop us from calling and texting every chance we got. I have to admit I was a little jealous as it was spring and just beautiful in Kentucky. James was able to set up the air mattress in one of the rooms he had finished and that room would be our room once we were moved. The guy had at least put down the subfloor in the entry but his Moms room had no floor at all it was just open.

James ran into the guys working on the house down the street and let them know what had happened. They were just finishing up that house and felt bad about what had happened to us. They said supplies were getting easier to get and took a look at our place again. They agreed to help us get the house livable in time for the big move. James just needed to get the supplies there so they could do the work. They did not ask for any money down and were true to there word. So James started working out all he needed for the bathroom and supplies to finish the floors. He had to drive around alot as we are kinda remote and he didn't want to wait around for certain things to ship as he wanted to get back home to me as soon as possible. One of his drives to get a water heater took him all the way into Cincinnati and I know how much he hates big cities. He got to drive all over Kentucky and was describing such beautiful places and I could hardly wait to come experince them for myself.

The weeks went by really slow for me as it seemed like James had been gone forever but he was able to get so much done. I had been keeping an eye on flights back for the last two weeks to see when the best priced flights would be and trying to time it so we wouldn't pay an arm and a leg to get him back home. Well the flight I chose had him arriving late and that meant I was driving to pick him up at night. I don't really like driving anymore and I can't even recall the last time I drove at night as James always did the driving for me. I brought Jax with me as he had been missing James and has anxiety if left alone. It wasn't until I got on the road that I realized how bad my night blindness was. Their were no other cars on the road and so I had nobody to follow. I was about to have an anxiety attack as there was no moon in the sky it was just pitch black. I struggled that drive and just prayed the entire way that I would make it. Jax seemed to understand my stress was high and nestled his head on my shoulder as if to say you got this! I tried to keep positive thoughts as I was heading to pick up James and I set my focus on that. When I got to the freeway I found a semi truck to follow and nearly made it to the airport before he turned off the road. I remember that struggle and thinking never again would I drive after dark I dont care how much more it cost to have a flight in the day I would pay it. Little did I know there would be another time I would have to on our final jouney home but I will leave that story for another day.