Betty

I Want to go Home

Our home in St. Charles

It’s good to go, and it’s good to come home. That’s what my mom would always say whenever we went on vacation.

This trip will have lasted three and one half weeks – 24 days. That’s the longest we’ve ever been gone. And I know once we are home, I’ll be ready to go again before long at all. I love to travel. But, I thought I’d capture these current feelings. Why? I don’t know. Because they are there. Kind of like why people climb Mt. Everest.

So, why do I want to go home?

Betty, Mom and Dan at Easter lunch
Easter Lunch with my Mom

My mom. My mom is 99 years old, and I miss her. When we are home, I visit her usually twice a week. This is the first trip we’ve taken where I can’t call her. She stopped answering her phone several months ago, so we took out her land line.

I can look in on her with Echo, but she doesn’t seem to be able to hear me or notice me. At least I can tell she is okay. I do have three siblings who are there, so it’s not like she is alone. They visit often. I’ll be glad to see her again, but at 99, you never know what can happen. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and say my prayers until I see her again.

New clothes. In our neighborhood Facebook group, a lady posted that she had lots of really nice clothes from her mother, and she was offering them to anyone in our neighborhood who might be interested. People do that a lot where we live – post things for free. She posted the sizes, and guess what, it was my size! I do not buy clothes for myself hardly ever, so the idea of a free wardrobe refresh sounded very exciting.

I messaged her that I was interested, but we were gone. So, she put all the boxes on our front porch, and Dennis brought them into the house for us. More about Dennis later. It will be like Christmas when I get home. I told my daughter all about it, and she asked if I even knew what style the clothes were. Nope, I said. The next time you see me, I might be wearing cheetah leggings and a snakeskin jacket! You know, there’s gotta be a post coming out of this one.

Sammy, our cat

Sammy. Our cat. I miss her little head peering out the door every time we come home. I miss her sitting on my lap each evening when we watch a little tv. While we have the automatic feeder, water bowl and litter box, it is not good to leave a cat without any human interaction. So, every couple of days, Dennis and his grandson, come over and play with Sammy for a bit. As you can tell, we have lots of nice folks where we live.

E-bike Rack. A couple months ago, we bought a new e-bike rack for our Ford Expedition. This will allow us to ride our e-bikes at some new trails. We have ridden 165+ miles on this trip, and we greatly enjoyed it. I am looking forward to more e-bike riding near our home on some new trails. The Missouri Department of Conservation recently opened up the roads in 300 of its conservation areas to e-bikes. I have other trails in mind, too.

Pickle Ball. This is a new frontier for the Chambers. Our neighborhood recently started pickle ball leagues after adding some lines to the seldom used tennis courts. We had to skip the first session as we were gone too much. However, we could make 7 of the 10 nights in the second session, so we signed up. Stay tuned here. I’m sure there’s gonna be some posts coming out of this adventure, too.

Our Scrabble friends. We love our Scrabble, and there is, what I call, a “Scrabble community” in St. Louis area. Believe it or not, you can often find Dan and I at a bar, sometimes at 11 am on Monday morning. What are we doing? We’re playing Scrabble.

Two of our frequent opponents are Kenton and David. Both have brains that somehow are hard-wired for Scrabble Bingoes. Kenton is a genius with a wild sense of humor. David is the kind of person who is just so nice and pleasant, and even though I usually lose, I just enjoy being around him. I enjoy our conversations, too.

My plants. This past winter, I started some seedlings. Well, let’s just say, next year, I am going to buy bedding plants. I never did get the impatiens to grow as seedlings, except for one which was thinner than a strand of the finest hair around. I did get some marigolds and zinnias to sprout. Either that or there were tiny white worms in the peat pots.

The sponge rock planter, looks like mostly dirt.
I swear there are plants in there.

Before we left our weather didn’t get warm enough to plant my seedlings outside. So, the day before we left, I stuck the marigolds and zinnias in the sponge rock planter, and I threw the rest of the impatiens seeds in two green planters on our porch. Some people say, plants want to grow – and will grow without much human help. We’ll see how true this is when we get home. I do hope Lowe’s will still have some bedding plants.

I am also looking forward to my great niece’s one year old birthday party the day after we get home. We always enjoy our family parties, and it seems we treasure these times even more after living through well, you know what.

June is a great weather month in St. Charles. It’s warm, but not too humid. It’s a good time to be home. Now, not to worry, all my fellow travelers. We’ll be going again before too long. Our travel itch isn’t going away anytime soon. As a matter of fact, 2022 is all planned with lots of adventures still ahead, and we just made reservations for April 2023. And if everything goes just right, I just might be wearing some new-to-me Cheetah leggings as we hit the road once again.

Back of travel trailer with neighborhood reflecting in the back window.

35 comments

  1. Thank you for another great read, Betty! I certainly understand the many things, events, and people you miss from home when you’re away. We’re usually gone 5-6 months at a stretch, so I hear you. I know you’ll have an enjoyable time at home. Maybe wear your cheetah leggings to the bar the next time you go there before lunch. I’m sure you’ll raise some scrabble eyebrows!

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  2. It’s always good to come back home. Vacation is a treat, while our homes are our life and no matter where we go, and no matter the circumstances, we miss our normal life, our friends, our habits, even the stores, and the neighborly gossip because it’s part of our everyday life. When we are gone we think we miss a lot, when we are back home we find out nothing happened and we are fine with it. Our ‘normal’ life is not that exciting, there are a lot of routines, and a whole lot of ‘same old, same old’ but that’s how we like it.
    I do hope you will find cheetah leggings and a snakeskin jacket in the box. It sounds like so much fun.

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    • Thank you! I do love traveling, but you are right. Home is home. We are fortunate to live in a nice neighborhood where we can walk and ride our bikes to our hearts’ content. I am looking forward to going through those boxes! Enjoy your day!

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  4. While there’s no place like home, it is wonderful to take off and discover the world! I loved this piece, Betty. Always interesting to learn more about what makes our friends tick! Maybe you’ll show off some of your new attire in the next Wordless Wednesday! Happy Trails.

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    • Thanks, Cathy. I am looking forward to checking out those clothes! I saw our front porch on Ring, and there were a lot of boxes! I do love seeing new places, but I also love our home and our neighborhood. Your home is looking great! You must be getting really excited. Enjoy your day!

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  5. Mother is most important, I’m sure! We would never have left the St. Louis area if my Mom were still alive. And if I were in the area still, I’d find out from you where the Scrabble group is. I love to play but my husband doesn’t.

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    • I agree. Mom is most important. I will be glad to see her when we get back. There are more men than women in our Scrabble group, so I would be so happy to have you join! But when we go to the tournaments, it is more even.

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    • My readers just THINK they want to see me in cheetah leggings and a snakeskin jacket! Who knows what’s in the boxes? Maybe a bunch of granny nightgowns. You all are making it even more fun!

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  10. This is why little trips away, no matter their length or destination, are so beneficial. Not only do you learn about a new place and all it has to offer, but you to get appreciate the humdrum of your every day life. Pickle Ball, Scrabble friends, the garden, and neighbours are the little pieces of a puzzle that make up a life. Welcome Home

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    • Hopefully, my new clothes won’t be duds. 🙂 It was a very good trip – good weather. Lots of ebike riding. I think we are done with the coast for a while though. It was pretty hot, and the bugs enjoyed me even though I tried my best to stay away from them. Have fun, and Safe travels!

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  12. I will be waiting for the post about the cheetah leggings, or whatever you find in the batch of mystery clothes! I understand about being excited to go on a trip, but also being ready to come home. I was ready to come home from Arizona at the beginning of April, even though it was still very wintery and nasty at home.

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    • I enjoyed our trip, but I was just ready to come home. It’s nice to know other people understand and have felt the same way. I am excited about the clothes. Whatever happens, it will be fun! Enjoy your day!

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  14. With all the reasons to return home, family is the number one cause of home sickness. Even with today’s technology where you can see and talk with family while you’re away, it doesn’t replace getting a hug.

    I alway return home with mixed feelings. Of course I love the hugs. But I know there is work waiting for me when I get there.

    Cheetah leggings? Not sure about that one.

    Have a great day.

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    • I agree – being with family in person is best. I was happy to be home, but I also know we have more trips coming up. No cheetah leggings in those boxes anyway. 🙂 Hope you have a great day, too!

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    • Hi Jessica! Welcome, and I am glad you are here. Yes, I am very proud of my mom, and I am happy to still have her. That is amazing that your great Aunt Esther is 103! My mom is an inspiration to me, and I bet your Aunt is an inspiration to you, too! Enjoy your day!

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      • Indeed Last year, at 102, Esther got tired of cooking, packed all her stuff, sold her cottage book looking house, and got herself an apartment at assisted living. She LOVES it. I bet you really enjoy your mom. A great generation for sure. Thank you- hope you have a great day. I appreciate the kind welcome.

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