POST # 440
Twelve years and counting. Twelve years and one day to be precise. Back on January, 27th, 2009 I walked away from my job as a ferry boat skipper at Aquabus in Vancouver, Canada. It seems much longer ago than that date. No job, has meant no pay cheque since that time. As each year passes, my dwindling bank balance continues to shrink, but I am OK with that situation.
The journey since that time has been one filled with plenty of four-legged friends, as well as new human friends. The ongoing generosity of all of these people to open up their homes for me to take care of, along with their precious pets, has allowed me to continue on this journey. I don't imagine that I could have continued for this long of a period, if I would have had to pay rent all along the way. It's been a great trade-off for all concerned. The Thoughtful Wanderer gets to have a free roof over his head, and the owners get a free house-pet sitter. It has appealed to my naturally frugal lifestyle.
Everything has changed since 2020, and the house-sit calendar is a big wide open space right now. I suspect this will be the case going forward. I happened to check the house-sitters website that I have used all these years, and whereas before 2020, on any given day, there would be literally hundreds of positions available for people such as myself, yesterday the total was only a meagre 25. That's for the entire world. Who needs house-sitters when no one is travelling?
As January 2021 comes to a close, I find myself being taken care of by my dear friend Mary, here in Washington State. I am so very grateful for having made her acquaintence way back in September 2012, when I answered an ad from her, requesting a house-sitter.
So we continue to enjoy our time together, along with that dog that has been mentioned occasionally on this blog. Of course, I will need to make my journey back to Canada at some point in the not too distant future, but for the time being, the three of us are happy to enjoy each day that we are presented with. We take little journeys every now and again, and come across lovely places such as this, on Camano Island. A magnificent looking Arbutus tree in the late afternoon sun.
As far as future house-sit bookings go, the only one that I have on the calendar at the moment doesn't start until December 30th of this year. It is back at the same place that I was at in early 2020, which is also the last time I had a house-sit. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to be there when January 28th, 2022 comes around. At that time, I can then ponder what thirteen years and counting will feel like.
THAT DOG
grateful for every breath,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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