The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Though I've already said we're heading out on Carbon's heart worm thread, I thought I should chime in here as well. While I've lost track of how many Labratours (TM @snowbunny ) this is, it must be somewhere on the five or six mark?

Here's some honest truth: even though things look promising with my residence permit and I'm really looking forward to our trip to the UK and Ireland, I'm beat. Six moves in six weeks, preceded by immigration drama, the freaky flu and then our previous marathon Labratour has kind worn my adventurous spirit to a pulp.

My best friend in the US called me yesterday and said she'd sold her house and had an offer accepted on a town house. Yeah, that's a non-sequitur, but bear with me. Without getting too personal, this friend has been moving house pretty much constantly - albeit in the same city - since I left the US nine years ago. She's gone through a lot of pretty bad stuff and selling her current house and buying her very own townhouse is the end of that road. In a month she'll be moving in and not having to move again for FOREVER unless SHE wants to.

Now, my nomadic situation is entirely of my own choosing, but when she told me about her new home, I was so happy for her that I shed some happy tears. And I also thought: how wonderful, to sit and stare at your own walls for a good long while. Granted her 'good long while' and my 'good long while' are two different animals.

Nonetheless, the idea is there: I just want to sit and watch paint dry. Or sit and watch paint that is already dry get dryer.

That's not going to happen in the near future. I'll be in one place in Cornwall for a week, then another place for a week, then back at the first place for a month. The houses are right next door to each other, but it's still not worth it to unpack for a week...it just isn't. Not even sure if a month is worth it at this point.

These are plans that I made myself and I don't particularly MIND living out of a suitcase, but for some reason hearing my friend's wonderful news brought home the question I ask myself A LOT: what the heck am I doing with my life? Isn't 50 years old the age one should own their own set of dishes?

Exhibit A: I actually cried at IKEA this week because I saw all these people shopping for their homes and I HAVE NO HOME. Yes, I do realise this is weird, troubling and a situation I need to sort out. NO ONE should cry in IKEA. By the way, tears were shed in the bathroom stall...I've not completely lost my marbles. Yet.

Exhibit B: I've now had three mornings in row of waking up and not remembering what country I'm in or what language I should be thinking in. And I keep slipping into Spanish with Carbon, which in hindsight he doesn't mind. And I keep having my "I can't shove all my stuff in my suitcase and the train is leaving with out me" dream. These things ARE totally normal for me, which is weird in and of itself.

I don't know why I'm sticking all this here on Carbon's thread and while I likely sound like I'm complaining, I'm really not. I chose this way of life. Since I was 20 years old, I've had maybe - counting generously - five years where I DIDN'T live like this.

Like everything else, it has it's pluses and minuses. The pluses are what most people see - I get to live in some amazing places and meet really wonderful people. The minuses crop up when I get homesick - really, really homesick the way I am now - and I don't know where 'home' is because there isn't one. I get to borrow other people's homes, which can be great... but it can also give you dish set envy, if you know what I mean.

"Home" becomes less a place - for me a series of holiday rentals - and more about friends. In my moments of dish set envy, this is what I need to remember.

So to bring it back to this trip, Carbon and I will head off into the horizon tomorrow. He of the dodgy tummy and me of the dodgily-wired brain and we will find our own kind of "homes": @Beanwood's comfy reclining leather sofa, @RosieC and her magical pillow couch, @kateincornwall 's front room where I hope to hear more stories of their own crazy adventures, another opportunity for Carbon to sit on the magnanimous Pongo's head and have a tug game with Monty or get some delicious treats from @SwampDonkey, and on and on...

In other words, thank you to good friends here and "IRL" for making it possible to have a little "home" on every stop. Labratour Part Six - yes, official 'six' as I've looked it up now - here we come!

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Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Lisa said:
Hope this trip goes well for you (and Carbon) Emily. Starting off tired is probably not ideal, but I hope you get some restful times in the midst of your journeys. :hug:
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It'll be fine - I'm actually not physically tired and am feeling in good form for the drive today. I've got 24 hours of new podcasts queued up, so looking forward to being entertained that way and watching the scenery roll by. I've got hours of catch up for work to do as well (yesterday was spent getting ready and saying goodbyes instead of working :oops: ) so it will be a calm afternoon/evening once we get to Metz.

I apologize for the rather maudlin post yesterday...I should know by now...

...it's ok to write but DO NOT PRESS POST when I'm feeling in a travel funk. :rolleyes:

The day before a big move I'm ALWAYS anxious and a bit depressed. Then I get to the actual day - today - and think, ROAD TRIP! LET'S GOOOOO! :cool:
 
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