When I read stories about people who have accomplished something like this post title, I always wonder how my own "throw the watch away and ride off on the motorcycle" story might play out.
It may be surprising for my reader to discover that I was born under the sign of Cancer, the homebody. (Ironic, no?) But the twist in the plot is this: My birth date is the 4th of July. Independence Day. The two seem to have been fighting with each other for decades.
I adore traveling but, when I'm away, I wonder if my son is keeping up with the lawn and throwing out the garbage. I wonder how my uncle is doing after his recent hospital stay. My elderly aunt receives a call almost daily to see if she is feeling well.
These thoughts and events by no means spoil my fun, however, my own version of Eat, Pray, Love would have at least a little bit of "Fret" in the title. Just enough that leaving it all behind has not yet seemed like a completely comfortable option.
Plus, there is that pesky Cancerian homebody side. I do love my little home and garden. But I only love it as a sort of space station to return to, floating back in from whatever destination or adventure I'm having. My home is an anchor in a vast sea of elsewhere.
Now, here's the rub.
Of late, that anchor feels a bit like an albatross. It's more "Home Sweet Yard Work" than "Home Sweet Home". No one who has ever owned a home can fool themselves into thinking that it will not wind up looking like the "before" house on Fixer Upper without regular maintenance. This is why my schedule the past two weeks went something like this:
Fly
Explore
Have an adventure
Return home
Unpack
Do the laundry
Clean the kitchen
Clear the front and back yards
Clean out the window boxes and planters
Set up the patio furniture
Plant 95 annuals
Plan a trip to Malta
Yeah. Something like that. The actual list is much, much longer.
And so, I've decided that my next trip is going to be to the library.
I really need to read more of those I Sold It All books.
No comments:
Post a Comment