Is it possible to be homesick if you don’t have a home?
This week I reached a point where I just wanted to go home – sadly that’s not an option and so we press on.
It all started a few weeks ago on a high note.
We were house-sitting in St Ives and found the next house-sit which was also in St Ives. The dates matched up perfectly and all was looking good.
When we went to check out the next place we were delighted to find it was a BIG house with a swimming pool, a pool table and a water bed (not in the same place).
Danita had decided she needed a few day’s break and this was looking like an ideal way to have one.
Our plan was to have a few day’s ‘staycation’ – where you have a vacation but stay home. This usually involves doing things you normally wouldn’t do due to the pressures of ‘normal’ living – shows, restaurants, touristy things.
(I had even started planning an Urban Nomad post called “Winning the Pools” with reference to the above.)
All was looking very good and we were really looking forward to it all, until…..
A few days before we were due to move I received an sms saying the family had needed move their holiday so could we come 10 days later instead.
This sent us into a panic about finding short term accommodation at such short notice – challenging enough, and Sancho (our dog) adds a whole extra level of complication.
As it worked out, we found a place (Medina Executive Apartments in Macquarie Park).
Lovely spot, good facilities and right across the road from a good friend – we even managed to have a progressive dinner one night.
So, we enjoyed our interim stay but were looking forward to returning to St Ives.
On the designated day we moved out of the apartment, and arrived at the new house at the prearranged time – 1.30pm. (We had to unpack the truck and return it to the hire place by 4pm.)
Our ideal is to collect the house keys before the start date and arrive at the house AFTER the owners have left.
Thus we’re not getting in each other’s way, as they move out and we move in, and we can settle in and get to know the place and the animals at our own pace.
Sadly, that wasn’t to be.
When we arrived the husband was at home but not the wife.
He saw us and immediately disappeared “for a phone call”.
This “phone call” was him ringing his wife, in a panic, saying we had a dog.
(I must point out that in our introductory application we always talk about Sancho. We even include a testimonial which talks about Sancho getting on with their cat. So it’s not like we try to hide him.)
Anyway, this caused a rather robust conversation where he pointed out to us that they could get the neighbour to look after the cats and that had they known about the dog they would never have asked us ….
Danita and I had some rather worrying moments trying to work out options for handling this situation.
Eventually, it got sorted and everyone was in agreement about arrangements.
By this time it was 2pm and they were planning to leave that day.
3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm passed and they still hadn’t left.
By 8pm they decided to leave the next day instead.
This was an immensely sensible decision on their part as they we both very tired and a 4 hour drive wasn’t something to be taken on in that state.
However, when you’re in someone else’s house (especially complete strangers with whom you’ve started with a bit of a barney) things can be a little uncomfortable.
Eventually, the next day, they did leave, although it was quite late and so Danita & I spent the morning “walking on egg shells”.
At last we have the house to ourselves. But wait there’s more…
Some time ago, based on the original timing of their trip, we’d agreed to a 4 day house-sit in Mona Vale. It was timed beautifully to coincide with the end of this one and all was looking like a perfect opportunity to catch up on a number of things.
Because the dates for this one moved the Mona Vale stint is now AT THE SAME TIME as the St Ives one.
When Danita and I make a commitment to a home owner we stick to it.
In this instance it means we’ll be in separate places.
So our little staycation has gone seriously pear shaped.
Anyway, one of the benefits of house-sitting has been to learn to be flexible and to meet our need for certainty (a la Maslow) in other ways than knowing where we’ll be living in the next few weeks.
This has been a serious test and we’re now enjoying where we are and working on making the best of the situation.