The housesitter
When I decided it was time for me to get on with the next chapter of my life, cliche as that sounds, I thought I needed a full on break from being the ME I have been for so many years. Nothing was cutting it for me…the job, the apartment, the friends, the sister that’s never given me the time of day, the lack of any sort of meaningful male connection. I hated where I was…physically & emotionally….& I wanted to grab life by the ponytail & tug. But, how exactly was that going to work?
The more I researched being in Europe for an extended stay, which is where my heart called me to go, mostly for the shear diversity of the countries & their close proximity to each other, the more I realized the only way for to afford to stay in Europe as long as I wanted was to find cheap lodgings. Bonus points if I could stay for free somewhere, but not be a moocher. I’m extremely independent & want to look after myself. I stumbled upon a housesitter site & after creating a profile, I started to apply for sits in the UK. The thing is, this wasn’t just housesitting, it was pet sitting as well. How hard could it be to look after a dog or a cat though?
I quickly had three sits booked, pretty much back-to-back, all in the UK. Yay! They all looked like something I could handle & in areas of the country that were interesting. The first was looking after a little terrier in Exeter for two weeks, which I literally fist-pumped when I was accepted it for it as I had two sets of friends in the area. The next place was sitting for two rescue cats in Worcester who came & went as they pleased. Easy one. The third, a border collie in the ruralness near Wrexham Wales. Time was being filled. A plan was starting to take shape.
I wanted to stay in the UK for the entire month of September, as I said goodbye to my trip mate, Lisa, August 30th & had a wedding back up in Edinburgh on September 30th. I also had friends down south in Exeter & near Barnstaple, so that would get me the socializing I’d crave from being solo for so long. I was eager to reconnect with both sets of friends as they both had such lasting impressions on me. On August 30th, I took the train from London down to Exeter where Tim & Alison picked me up from St. David’s Station with little Otis in tow.
I’m on my third & final sit & I admit I’m hooked on housesitting & not just for the economics. This is truly the best way to LIVE in my surroundings & have some responsibility, which I sorely need at times. The homes have all been really nice & the animals haven’t given me too much grief (I did, however, forget that dogs bark for no reason…a lot) & a huge plus is that I’ve met really interesting people through it. I met Raj while sitting at Alison & Tim’s & that was truly a highlight of my trip thus far. I reconnected with Ray & Sue, which I couldn’t be happier about. I feel like Sue is my sister, the sister I’ve always wanted…full of helpful suggestions, funny & kind to me. Ray made me feel right at home with them & after having known them for 17 years, they are now snuggled deep into my heart…where true family should be. Seeing Paul & meeting his wife Tess confirmed that I am doing something right when I meet people. I am able to form a bond that lasts the test of time. Paul, my brother…my friend for life.
I bought a one way ticket to London to land August 18th. It’s now September 26th. What have I accomplished & what did I hope TO accomplish during this time? What am I searching for? What do I hope for? I don’t think it has to be that deep or meaningful. I want to fill up the time I have left with joy & to try & learn as much as I can while I’m here. I want to walk narrow cobbled streets & look at ancient architecture. I want to stop into random pubs for a pint & maybe sit up at the bar to make friends with people. I want to learn how figure travel out & put myself into difficult situations, knowing I can get myself out of them. I want to put pressure on myself, but at my leisure & not at someone else’s bidding. Maybe quiet my mind down a bit…one of the pitfalls of being high-creative. Learn to forgive myself for who I’ve been in the past, let go of people who don’t truly care about me & open my heart to everything else that comes my way. Reinvent myself into Laurie 2.0…an updated version with all the bugs fixed & new programs loaded.
I dreamed last night that I was fighting off a large angry black bull. There was a tree or post I was trying to put in between myself & the bull, but I was fighting him off…I wasn’t letting him get to me. I was quick & nimble & smart….I was winning. It wasn’t a nightmare…it was only a dream.
