Debby Does…

Since leaving New Jersey in late May, we’ve been bouncing around quite a bit. As a serial nester, I try to make every temporary spot comfy and cozy. I bring quilts and pillows and all the transportable trappings of home that I can negotiate into the car. As soon as we check in or walk in, I quickly set to home-ifying the space.

When Jim and I first started dating I remember he told me that he loved being with me in part because “my stuff” made him feel comfortable. It was my “country” era, so there were pickled knick knack shelves and quilted hearts with cobalt blue bits and bobs. My granny’s well worn homemade quilt was on the bed and my dresser was cluttered with antique frames, filled with photos of the people I love.

What’s funny is that I liked his stuff too. His dad managed a high end furniture store, and he grew up working in the business. He had a beautiful sense of style and his temporary graduate school home felt so grown up to me, with his roommate’s grand piano and their Sunday night “family dinner” gatherings. I knew then that I wanted to pitch my tent wherever he was.

Eventually, we moved in together, combining our styles and things, hosting our friends, and making room for our first dog as a couple—Molly, Molly, Border Collie. Our inaugural Christmas tree, purchased from the grocery store parking lot, featured Target’s best distressed faux apples, tartan bows, gold balls, and baby’s breath, topped with a raffia bow, and twinkling with white lights. I think it might have been my favorite Christmas tree of all time. It was homey and cozy, my two major requirements in life.

Even in the drabbest hotel room or spartan rental, I try to fill it with that essential home feeling. As we get ready to hit the road with our dogs, escaping the massive renovations at our house, my lists are loaded with the things we need to feel less displaced and more in place. It’s not easy and sometimes it requires the service of a Sherpa, but it means delicious dinners, snuggly beds, and a few of those things that make us feel settled.

When we moved, I had grand plans to quit drinking, drop 20 pounds, and fall in love with exercise. I hadn’t counted on the transient nature of this time in our life, the stress it would cause humans and dogs, and the resulting fatigue. So, I’m still enjoying my nightly cocktails, declaring myself chubby, and penciling in joining the YMCA in the fall.

And you know what? That’s okay.

I’m doing my best. We’re doing our best. As always, we’re making lemonade out of life’s lemons. These are hard days that will get better and, when they do, so will I! Lemons will turn to apples and those apples will become pies in my new kitchen.

I sit here, as I type, gentle reader, eating a breakfast that consists of the last piece of toast and chips with salsa. Why? Because I need to clean out the pantry and fridge at our Airbnb and because this salsa is epically tasty. Plus, it’s vegetables. Those are good for me.

Tonight, we’ll have our last sleep here and head to a hotel in the morning. Then, it’s off on “adventures” in Michigan and Massachusetts. I’ll learn about “lake life” and read books under those aforementioned quilts; I’ll walk my dogs, love my husband, and MacGyver random kitchen equipment to make tasty meals from the local produce and farm markets. I’ll be longing for home, but making a temporary one and immersing myself in it. It’s just what I do, and I’m good at it.