She's got it made.

Oh, to have a dog's life. The household hound continues her daily routine of lying curled in a ball on the couch, grabbing a bite of kibble, nosing my arm to alert me it's time to go potty, all blissfully unaware that her world is about to change in a big way.

Once Steve leaves I expect it will take several days for Ladybug to realize daddy is not coming back for a while. That means several days of me keeping the drapes pulled anytime she is awake so she doesn't sit staring longingly out the window and whining, watching for his truck. It means she will sniff the children relentlessly when they get home from school in her own way of asking if perhaps they have forgotten someone outside. I suspect she will sit next to me in the evenings with a look in her eyes as if to say "what have you done with him?"

The cats won't care. As long as they are fed and petted and talked to occasionally (or not, depending on their moods) they will be happy. The dog? She'll take some time to settle into a new routine minus one of her humans, but eventually she will. The real question is, how long will it take the rest of us?