The door that won't close

Seriously I really need to get my life together. I have finally moved into my own place, the dust is settling and I really need to figure out what to do next.   The problem is as much as I think one door has closed, it really hasn’t.  We’re still connected.  Even when the final paperwork arrives we still own a house together, are each other beneficiaries on our life insurance policies, and share the cell phone plan and to add to it we own 2 dogs, to add to it. Since we were married during the 2010 tax year, we will need to do taxes together.  I wish I could just nail that door shut, but it doesn’t look like that's going to be happening soon. The good thing is I don’t feel an emotional connection with him. He isn’t an enemy so he must then be a friend. I don’t hate him for what he has done to me, I’m not angry with him. I have forgiven him and have moved on. Holding on to anger is of no benefit to me.  

By April of next year taxes will be done and that connection should be over. By Dec of this year my health benefits will have ended and that connection will be over.  Soon as my final divorce paperwork has arrived we’ll be able to get my name off the loan, deed, and change beneficiaries on our life insurance. I'm crossing my fingers that will be all be completed by year end. 

Then all that is left is the dogs and the cell phones. We share a cell plan now because it’s cheaper then having separate plans, but I’ll probably forgo the savings next year after all the other connections are severed, even thought it is nice saving money.  

The last connection is the dogs.  As of now he has both dogs at the house. My apt isn’t set up for me to have my dog living here with me yet. I do have a little dog door that leads out to my back deck. So I can set up a potty area for her out back, but I’m still not sure if I really want to take her.  I do have the option of leaving her with my ex. She is happy where she is and he really loves her and I know he will totally take care of her. This has been a decision I’m struggling with for a while. It was difficult for me to find a place that that would be conducive to having her with me. I opted for not having roommates so I could have her with me with out the stress of her getting underfoot or being teased or stepped on or untrained by roommates. It has been a very expensive choice too. If I had roommates my rent would be considerably less and I wouldn't be so stressed about money. I also went to the effort to find a place that wasn't in a complex so she wouldn't bark at the neighbors when I left her home alone. I also made sure I had a balcony so she would have a place to potty and I wouldn't have to take her for a walk every time she needed to go. Now that I did all this prep work I'm not sure if I really want to have her with me all the time. I’m not sure I really want the commitment of taking care of a dog. The good thing of me having a dog is it would ensure that I come home every night at a reasonable hour. Which in turn could keep me out of trouble.  So, maybe the responsibility would be good for me. So many decisions.

If I taker her or not, the issue is still what do we do when I/we go out of town. For now it’s nice to have someone we know and trust to take dogs care of them when we are out of town. The other option is to drop the dogs off at our respective parents’ homes which are out of town. They live less then two hours away, but that is still inconvenient.