You're What?!

You never know quite what people are going to say, especially friends, when you tell them you're going to do something they might consider unexpected – or even crazy. Over the years our patient friends have given us all kinds of surprised, jovial and 'you've got to be kidding' responses to our life choices, but their reactions to the news that we're going to become full-time house-sitters has (on the whole) been relatively consistent.

There were the predictable:
     'You're selling everything?'
     'Where will you stay when you haven't got somewhere to home-sit?'
     'What will you do with the dog?'

There were also a few hopefully well-meaning comments I can't repeat in print.

But also, much to our surprise, there were a lot of, 'Oh, we have friends who've been doing it for years and loving it!'

Again, it's been a case of us never having heard of anybody house-sitting – ever – and yet now everybody we speak to knows somebody who's doing it! Which I have to say is remarkably reassuring, especially since they all seem to be having a great time – with many of them becoming selective about where they stay and having very few 'homeless' nights in between stays.

All of which is really just making us more excited and impatient to get things happening, there are after all only so many plans you can put in place when you really have no definites (like when we will have sold our house) to work with. Still, it's all giving us more time to sell more things and sort, and I'm sure I'd be complaining if that had become incredibly rushed. Besides, all this extra time will just give us even more time to hear about other happy house-sitters, won't it…

ALSO, just for the record:

• Yes we are selling just about everything, except for the heirlooms we're storing and the backpack and suitcase of 'must haves' we're each taking with us.
• We're hoping there will be no 'homeless days', but if there are we've been offered a friends' spare room (or caravan), may buy a tent and may even go on holidays.
• Our much-loved dog is actually our daughter's so he will be moving in with her.