We’ve been home for nearly two weeks. It continues to fascinate me that I love being home as much as I love being in Vanda. The differences between these two living arrangements is stark — Vanda is compact, requiring forethought for nearly all that we do inside our home on wheels. Whether it is storage of our personal and kitchen items including food, which one of us opens the clothes cabinet first in the morning, where we hang our shower towels to dry, or where we sit to relax — John in the “living room” and me in the “bedroom” — it is a cozy living space. And, it totally works for us! There is no bumping into each other or friction regarding the use of this small space. It amuses me when people see our van and wonder how on earth we manage in this wee space; I offer reassurance as to our consistent comfort as well as remind the concerned friend that we have gotten this vanlife down to a comfortable routine.
Skip over to our house…4400 square feet of comfort-ridiculously big for two people-yet we love this home very well. We spend most of our time in the same few rooms — me in the sunroom looking out onto the backyard garden, the fountain, and the birds and John at his computer desk right behind me. We banter back and forth from these two adjacent rooms. As well, I relish the many hours I spend it the large kitchen, we eat in the alcove which also looks out to our backyard, I sit with my Sangha community in the cavernous family room at the back of the house, and of course we spend our nights in our bedroom, complete with a luxurious bathtub. [soaking in the tub is one of the first things I do after we unpack the van!]. There are rooms however that we merely pass through on the way to our chosen space, never stopping to sit. Weird.
The contrast of the 12 x 6 feet in the van (which includes the queen bed!) versus the huge house is ridiculous, such that I often expect to be disoriented by going from cozy to cavernous but nope, there is no adjustment required. What is so completely different is the way we spend our time during the day … on the road, there are hikes and bike rides to plan and enjoy, laundromats to find, Co-ops and farmers markets to research, miles to drive from one campground to another, food to prepare and cook in the micro-kitchen, and dishes to wash without splashing our bed which is close to the sink. Again, this is all contributes to joyous days and nights. At home though, it seems we have more hours to fill, more time to sit around, more time for writing and reading, more events to attend, and certainly more plans to make with friends. Side note: It is a challenge to sit in with my Sangha community from Vanda as the Sunday evening at 6:30 eastern time is often a time of sunsets, making dinner, or having my shower, not to mention that cell service is often quite limited at most campgrounds which makes the zoom session technically difficult to join. Being home assures my regular Sunday engagement with this glorious group of humans.
In these first couple of weeks, we have been to routine doctor’s appointments, got Vanda’s cracked windshield replaced, had the house HVAC routine service done, attended the annual WNIN Public Broadcasting Station gala, scheduled additional (mundane) appointments, I have washed and thoroughly cleaned the van, we’ve had dinner and hikes with friends, plenty of bike rides with more to come, and I have committed to teaching a cooking/nutrition class in early April. Speaking of cooking, John and I made fresh pasta, which was delish! We are getting pretty good at it now! I am flying to see my mom in Fort Lauderdale for a long weekend in mid-April, and John and I are flying to New York then taking Amtrak to Boston to see our kids for a week at the end of April.
My favorite aspect of being home during this time of year is the yard — before my very eyes, I can watch my yard awaken to spring, a real visual treat. I have cut back the dried stalks in the neighborhood-facing front yard to begin the overall clean up but have left those stalks piled near the front bed to continue to provide a safe haven for insects and whatever larvae may be overwintering inside of them. There are so many new green shoots and stalks growing already, each one a welcome reminder of the resurgence of natural life. I absolutely love this time of Spring renewal and growth! There are plenty ‘o weeds to deal with now that they are liberated from the shade of those stalks and basking under the warming sun–I will be heading out soon to do more weeding, which is truly a non-stop chore from now until the fall! My old back only allows for a wee bit of bending at a time, but I find great solace in having my hands in the soil. We “leave the leaves” from fall until late spring as there are numerous insects and spiders overwintering in them as well. To some, our native yard might look messy but for me, I love that we are providing protected space for so many critters. The backyard is a lot more work as it is larger, but given the birds that are still pulling seeds from the dried flowerhead as well as those foraging for bugs in the leaves, I allow that yard to go a little longer before I begin the clean up. From the sunroom now, I see both a Towhee and a Robin flipping over leaves, and a male Cardinal pulling seeds from last year’s Virgin’s Bower, a variety of native Clematis.
These weeks at home before our annual trek to follow the Warbler migration beginning in early May are both busy and quiet, scheduled and free-flow. It is indeed a good life. Happy Spring!
