So here are Will and I, house-sitting for our son and son-in-law while they’re off on a cruise vacation for the next couple of weeks, with a large house full of food and conveniences at our disposal. Just like in the old days when we had plenty of everything! They also have a trash compactor, a Keurig coffeemaker, and Netflix, none of which we had in our past life. And TV…..oh Lord, how much I’ve missed TV. I didn’t even know there was a new season of Dancing With The Stars, but we were able to catch it live. Don’t get me wrong, I like our new home and am grateful beyond words that we have a roof over our heads, but it is nice to spread out a little.

The fun part so far has been figuring out how things work, including the computer I’m typing this post on. It has this wireless mouse that you literally have to bend in the middle to make it work. Weird. I also have access to my son’s laptop if I want it. In the meantime there’s the keyless deadbolt that scared me half to death this morning when I locked it and then couldn’t unlock it again for a few minutes. I could just imagine calling Ethan—he’s in Houston waiting for his connecting flight to Florida as of this writing—like he could do anything but give me the passcode again. I STILL have trouble remembering stuff like that. I did manage to unlock it after a few frantic attempts, but you can bet I used the old-fashioned door lock when we left for Will’s doctor appointment later.

The downside to all of this is, we are also dog-sitting. And fish-sitting. And snake-sitting. (Thank God we don’t actually have to DO anything with them.) One of the dogs is diabetic and we have to give her insulin shots, which is an adventure all in itself. It’s a two-person operation—you  need one to hold the dog and distract her with a treat, while the other grabs her by the scruff of her neck and pokes the needle in before she can turn around and bite. We get to perform this trick twice a day. Dogs are not the easiest of patients, so this ought to be interesting to say the least.

But we can’t knock it—in a way it’s like a “stay-cation” for us, and we’re even getting paid for it. What could be better? Well, a Caribbean cruise…..:-)