My (Almost) Mini-Retreat

I was so excited last week. My oldest daughter, the only one of my children who is out on her own, wanted me to come house-sit for a few days while she was out of town. She has a roommate, but she was gone for a few weeks and someone needed to be there to take care of the roommate’s dog and 2 cats.

Now, normally  I wouldn’t be so excited about house sitting. I hate to leave my own animals, but my 18 year old and 21 year old were at home to watch them. Shannon, my daughter lives in the cutest little beach cottage among million dollar beach homes. She has the beach on one side of her street and Seashore State Park on the other so it’s a beautiful setting.

I was really looking to some time all by myself too. I need to make some decisions about my business and I figured this would be the perfect time to do some un interupted brain storming.

I got to the house on Monday afternoon, settled in and then decided to take Amy, the sweet mutt, out for a walk. We went  to the park and walked for about a half a mile before I realized what an idiot I am. This part of the park is off the beaten path. There were no real paths, no other people, just huge sand dunes, moss covered trees, and lots of vegetation. I soon realized I was lost.  There was no sight of the neighborhood I just came out of. Yikes! I don’t have the greatest sense of direction. Why didn’t I mark the path somehow or at least take notice of my surroundings.

After a few false starts, I decided to see if the dog could get us back. So I told Amy to take us home. And you know what? She did. She’s one smart pup. She lead us right back home. After that little episode, I didn’t attempt the park again when I took Amy on her walks.

I went out to get a yummy deli sandwich for dinner and came back to find my 18 year old son waiting for me in the driveway. He had ridden his bike the 10 miles to the beach to see me. I shared my sandwich with him and he hung around for about an hour before going home. Nice to know my kids still like to be with me.

I decided I would do alittle work and then spend the evening soaking in a bubble bath and reading a novel I have been trying to get to for a month. While relaxing in the tub and getting into the plot of a psychic running from the law, my cell phone rang and I saw it was my mother. I didn’t want to answer it because I knew I probably wouldn’t want to hear whatever she had to say. Besides she was interupting my "mini retreat".

But guilt won out and I answered the phone to hear my mom crying. Her beloved, elderly Lhaso Apso, Prince was on his last legs. She was afraid he wouldn’t last much longer. I asked if she wanted me to take him to the emergency vet but she wanted to wait until the next morning and take him to their regular vet and she wanted to be there too. So the next morning, instead of communing with nature on the beach, I took my elderly mother and her elderly dog to the vet.The news wasn’t good and my mother made the difficult decision to euthanize her beloved companion. It was very hard on her and me. Fortunately, Prince’s demise was very peaceful.

I spent most of the rest of the day clearing my mother’s house of dog paraphanlia and taking care of her. I got back to the beach house just in time to take Amy for a walk, feed all the animals and head on home. So much for my mini retreat. Sigh. Hopefully  I will get a chance to try it again.

I did have 2 epiphanies during my short time of peace. First, contrary to common thought, rich people are very nice. I can’t tell you how many times, while out walking Amy, the neighbors would wave hello or stop to chat. They sure don’t do that in my neighborhood!

The second is I realize that when I am stress free, I dont eat much. I had no desire to overeat while I was out there. I didn’t eat at all until I actually felt hunger pangs and then I only ate until I was no longer hungry. It wasn’t until my mother called that I had the urge to eat. Not an excuse, just an observation. Now I have to figure out how to handle stress in a different way, huh?

Today’s Quote: “I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “Where’s the self-help section?” She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”George Carlin

Today’s Hint: White vinegar makes a great pet stain remover. It also cuts the smell which will make it less likely that your pet will mark the same spot.

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