Home

"Home"

It's really quiet here.

Wait. What was that?

A sigh? A yawn?

It really doesn't matter. I suppose I could play a little music or turn on the television, but the silence is somewhat comforting today.

"Home" is the townhouse we bought about four years ago in the 'burbs'. Downsizing was our effort to decrease the carbon footprint and free up some travel-time. Newly retired from firefighting and nursing, we had a bad case of wanderlust. Travelling the world while we were young and healthy enough was a priority. And travel, we did. Asia, Europe, North & South America. Not the cruise-ship type, we enjoyed travelling with a back pack, map, currency calculator and translation app. That was then.

For now, we are at home. "The Villas of Westridge". A small, gated community in McKinney, Texas.

Looking outside, through our living room window, it's an overcast day during the COVID19 pandemic in April. My view of our orchard (plum, peach and pear trees) is temporarily obscured by an elderly dog-walker. He's a regular around here with two little dogs. Strangely, whenever I've said 'hello' - he hasn't responded to me. Maybe he has hearing issues. I call him 'Ove', (from the book, A Man Called Ove) but have since learned his name is Steve. He'll always be 'Ove' to me.

His dogs bark. And then, silence. Again.

Tick. Tick. Tick. It's peaceful here but c'mon. The silence is deafening.

And just like that, without any provocation or discussion, the love of my life, travel-partner and best friend, 'Mr. Something', excitedly hollers out... "CAR!" just to break me up - along with the tranquility of the place we call "home".

#TheIsolationJournals -  A travel journal entry from home.