W is interstate with S15 and D13. They attended W's grandfather's funeral on Friday. Flying would have been faster but W drove as a covid 19 precaution, to avoid mixing with people in a plane and airport. Sensible, particularly given there were elderly relatives at the funeral, including grandma who is in her 90s.
W did the drive over two days. She let me know they'd arrived at their first day's stop by sending me a photo of the kids at the motor inn. She sent me a short message on the second day to say they'd arrived safely.
I drove to my Mum's place on Saturday. Not as big a drive as W did, but still three hours each way. Mum & I celebrated our joint birthday on Sunday. I texted W a photo of my parked car to let her know I'd arrived safely. I drove back home on Sunday afternoon as I'd been called into the office on Monday.
The family facetimed me on Sunday to wish us Happy Birthday, starting with D13 then S15, then W. MIL got in on the act, which caused some consternation at our end, though we made sure we were polite to her.
There are only a few days left of the school term, then we are into two weeks of school holidays. W is staying on with her mum a bit longer. She is not sure if she will return this week or stretch it out. It depends on her work.
We are now in uncharted waters. W said she would wait until after my birthday to file for D. Something seems to happen every time W sees her mother so I wonder if it will happen soon. We haven't told the kids yet. I don't think W would tell them without me being there, but I'm not sure. We only spoke about it once, briefly. I got the impression she might file first then tell, so that it's a done deal when the kids find out.
I really want to contact W and ask her to reconsider. I haven't - I'm writing it here as an alternative to actually doing it, hoping it will release some steam pressure. I'm keep in mind that DB is counter-intuitive, and that what I really feel like doing isn't what I actually need to do.
W's dad called me while I was driving home on Sunday. He encouraged me to keep perservering but also to let God have full reign over the situation.
A quiet night after arriving home. Cooked a steak. Here's to a better birthday next year!
