How To Stay Home And Enjoy It !

At the beginning of last year when I was working full-time and had, for the most part, weekends off, my husband Jim and I would hop into the car and noodle down every little road in the region. We cannot drive without substantial food products tucked away into the glove compartment, side map compartments, and in bags spread over the back seat. We figure if some catastrophe befalls and we are run off the road into an area where no one can find us and we are trapped in the car until it may be too late, at least we won't starve to death. However, I'd die of embarrassment after a day or so unless we could hitch our booties out a window for, um, sanitation's sake.




I think I may have a touch of whatever it is that adorable TV star Monk has. When I leave, for a quick trip to Wal-Mart or a daylong exploration, I tend to over plan. The cats have a whole checklist just for themselves. Big bowl of water? Check. Big bowl of kitty food? Check. Clean litter box? Check. Toys out in plain sight? Check. An entire bag of kitty treats strewn around the living room, kitchen, computer room, upstairs bedroom and art studio? Check. It takes them a long time to find them all, but it keeps them busy for hours. Probably not the best thing for their diet, though.

Then I check and double check that the stove is off, microwave is not beeping, computer is unplugged in case of a big storm and making sure the home phone recorder is on to catch whatever messages we must have from various credit card companies begging for our business. By that time I'm pooped and just want to curl up with a good book.

Now, of course, all plans are off. As gasoline prices rise precipitously I feel a growing need to do housework, bake cookies, iron all my husband's slacks (that would put him right over the edge and into the capable hands of his cardiologist.

Husband Jim gets antsy when he can't get out because of sloppy driving weather or gas prices. We at least get to the local Subway for a Diet Coke and maybe a tuna sub. It would do us more good if we walked there like Jared, but no, we drive. Of course Jared's a good 25 to 35 years our junior and a lot more motivated. I'll bet he gets free subs...ya' think ?

The gas prices have helped keep me home and searching for jobs by Internet the way I should be anyway. No one's going to pay me to drive aimlessly around the west coast of Florida and say howdy to folks, so I do have to find a real job, and soon.

Author William Least Heat-Moon drove around and made a best seller out of it as he circumvented the U.S. with his dog, a camera, an old truck, and an incredible writing talent. He was running from a heartbreaking divorce. Pick up his book sometime when you want to stay home: “Blue Highways - A Journey into America” is its name.

So, how to stay home and enjoy it? Explore the Internet and find old relatives, brush the cat, bake cookies to go with a pot of hot chocolate, start a jigsaw puzzle, start a novel (writing one, not reading one), rent a movie you've always wanted to see, organize your relatives' birthdays with their likes and dislikes for presents, and keep up with the ages of the little ones. Create your own cards with found art, or kits from Michaels. For that matter, don't stop at greeting cards - create a whole art piece with stuff you have around the house. Unpacking old boxes can be very therapeutic. And, of course, take your dogs for long walks. That's good for both of you, or all of you, depending on the size of your four-legged family If the dogs are big enough maybe you could fabricate a dog sled with wheels instead of runners, and they could mush you to the market. Hey! I think I've got something here. No gas transportation. Well, no gas depending on what you're feeding them... Guess they'd have to have diapers for long treks, or an agile teenager running along behind you with a scooper and bag. Sounds like we could get the whole community into it. How about a fourth of July parade with all the local dog teams on display? This is just getting better and better.
Cheers, my friends !
Robin