Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts. They're helping a lot at the moment.
Post-trip day is usually a downer for me. Time to catch up on all the things I let go and deal with a few problems. Today is a bit rougher than usual. The house is extremely quiet without "ol' Pep" and I'm stuck in it. The van needs service to get my driving controls working again and the dealer's all booked until next week. And it's a balmy 69 degrees outside. I sure wish I could just take a stroll over to DTD to ride that balloon again.
GM and I decided we'll adopt a new kitten come fall when we settle in for the season. For now we're just starting our travel season and won't be home long enough to dedicate for a little one. Besides, the time allows us to mourn one pet before jumping right back in to another.
This house used to be full of pets and people. But the dogs grew old, the siblings all moved away and had busy households of their own, and the rest of us just slowly grew older. I think this is why GM & I like to travel so much now. A quiet house can be a very empty one too.