Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Leaves all came out while I was away…

We take so much for granted until it’s just not there, don’t we? Spending most of April and May away from home while recovering among my fellow aged was truly eye opening in so many ways.

This week, the final cast came off, replaced by a walking boot and the Achilles is back to work again. Kinda achy, honestly, but anything that just hangs around for six weeks with no work can get achy in this well-seasoned body of mine.

Having a walking boot means I can once more mount the steps of this old house of ours. I can walk about the house, and stand to prepare food. I can even garden – a bit – and generally return to this thing we call life.

I will admit that I miss some of my new friends from The Home. Lovely women and men with interesting life stories who are very much living dorm style among their peers. I brought this up with my college roommates since we’ve retained our weekly zoom meet ups beyond the pandemic.

After imagining how much fun we would all have, reliving our college years with the communal living escapades of our early 20s, we all realized we had a few years – maybe decades - to lean in to the fun we still have when we gather. None of us are ready to truly imagine leaving our home communities in Vermont, the Carolinas, Ohio, Minnesota, or Florida. Well, our Florida friend may be interested in moving away from the climate impacts on that state…

The college girls are all planning a trip to England in September – one I will miss as it coincides with my high school reunion – a Big One to celebrate 50 years since graduation. And that is something I truly look forward to experiencing.

So back to being home again – we move on, don’t we – leaving the experience of feeble dependency behind. And now to reengage in the exercises of my daily life – gatherings with friends, activities with the family, work – lots of work, and there’s always laundry.

Ah – sweet life!