So, I’ve been away from home for a month – thirty continuous days – taking care of three dogs while their humans went on an adventure to Costa Rica. They were lovely dogs, and their house has a lovely river view and it was sort of an adventure for me too, in that it shook me out of my routine. I might not have had breakfast with howler monkeys or visited a parrot sanctuary, but I did see a lot of gorgeous sunrises (the dogs in question are very early risers) and some beautiful starscapes, being far away from the city lights. I also drove a different route to work past farms and rural churches, I got my groceries at a different store and I missed my dog. A lot.
This might not sound like a big deal to you, but the thing is – I am an inveterate homebody and I thrive on routine. I don’t know if it’s a zodiac thing (Cancers are notorious hermits – I mean, crabs actually carry their homes on their backs,) or if it’s just always wanting to know for sure where my next meal is coming from, but it is not easy to pry me out of my home for long periods of time.
I have friends who travel extensively for work and I shake my head at them – how do they manage, always away from the familiar? Don’t they miss their lives, their families, their friends? Their dogs?
But this morning, I’m back in the loving embrace of my tiny family, with all my familiar things around me and so all is right with the world again.
This morning I took my dog, Gavin, who is tiny and fierce and ridiculous and not at all the dog I thought I was supposed to have, for an extra long walk and we took in the old familiar sights with fresh eyes.
It’s good to go and have tiny adventures, to see and do some new things, but wow, it’s really good to come home again.
P.
P.S. And now I’m thinking the place needs a coat of paint…