My last day here and the cranes are back. Lots of noise outside.
There’s certainly a list of things I won’t miss when I return home: the endless roadwork and construction that has been going on around the hotel and the apartment building, the crane work that has gone on the whole time I’ve been in the apartment – today the cranes are hoisting giant letters to put on the side of the building next door. As a slow-waker-upper, I won’t miss having to go outside first thing every morning to walk Scout.
But I will miss this apartment. I wrote about this last year, I believe, and I’m going to try to put it in words again this year. There’s something about being away from home in a cozy apartment that I find enormously appealing. While I miss my house, of course, I really like these periods away from home. I’m in Hartford to do my work and only to do my work. So all other distractions (save Scout this time) are out of the picture. I’m several floors up in an old apartment building with high ceilings and airy white walls. I can do whatever I want to.
Don calls it my “Mary Tyler Moore Life” and he’s sort of right. And, let me be clear, he totally gets it and understands the attraction. He’s not threatened by it at all. I was single for a long time. I didn’t meet Don until I was 41. I lived by myself in a series of apartments, from very small studios to one bedrooms. I liked being able to shut the door on the world and nest in my small space. (I am a veteran of very small spaces, believe me.) I am also someone who tends to be solitary. I like my own company. I’ve always been that way.
Living away from home in a little apartment, unable to do any of the many chores that need to be done back at the cottage, unable to be with Don, gives me permission to experience a taste of that life I used to lead. It was a life I liked very much. I get all the social interaction I need at the theater. I come home to a quiet (well, fairly quiet) apartment where all I have to worry about is what to fix for dinner, what book to read, what television show to watch, what blogs to visit.
Would I, at this stage in my life, want this all the time? A resounding NO. I love my husband, I love our life together, I miss him every day. I cannot wait until the three of us are reunited at the cottage, where we belong. Meeting Don and building a life with him has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I have a partner in life who is the loveliest, finest man I know, who makes every day an adventure, who loves me completely.
Would I trade that for anything else? Of course not.
But every once in a while, I get to go off by myself and live my Mary Tyler Moore Life for several weeks. I get to indulge that part of me that loved being on my own. How lucky is that?
Like clockwork, right about now I find I’ve had enough of it and I’m ready to go back home to my cottage and my husband and my dog. I reached that point yesterday, a day where it was damp and windy and rainy, where I watched part of the show but didn’t take any notes because the actors need to make it their own now, where I found myself thinking about packing and getting out of here, where I started thinking about home.
Having a little pied-à-terre in the city is quite lovely. And it’s been even lovelier with Scout along for the ride. She has been great company and her adventuresome spirit has been a true delight. She’ll miss this little apartment, too – the rides in the elevator, the dogs she’s made friends with, the people on the street who stop and talk to her, the park, the park, the park, the scents, the sidewalks. Her other life in the country might be a little boring.
We’ll find some adventures there, my girl. We will.
Opening Night tonight and home tomorrow.
Book Review of Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon on Just Let Me Finish This Page.
Happy Friday.
Totally get it. It’s good to live a different life for a bit, secure in the knowledge that you have a home base. I tend to do the same as you, only in reverse. I live in a downtown condo and life seems to be a constant whirlwind. My ‘away’ is house-sitting for a close relative in the country. Love being able to shamble about in my gardening clothes, putting out hay for the deer, listening to the quiet.
Best of both worlds, Barbara!
Claudia, Wishing a safe journey back home. I think scout is going to like being back to her own running area. Tell us how she acts when she gets back home. I know you and Don truly trust and understand each other. But I think you will like being back in his arms each day too. Blessings to all of you, xoxo,Susie
p.s. I loved that Mary Tyler Moore life.
Don won’t be home for another couple of weeks, Susie. Til then it will be me and Scout.
Claudia I am so glad you get to live your “Mary Tyler Moore” life and then return home to your life at Mockingbird Hill! Enjoy your last day there and opening night! Hugs to you and Scout!
Linda
PS Did you read the big news on my blog?
No, but I’m on my way there now!
I totally “get it”! As you say, the best of both worlds.
Thanks, Rebecca!
I totally get the Mary Tyler Moore reference. I still remember her hanging her “M” on the wall of her apartment and wanting the same experience. It’s nice you can experience the city and apartment life every now and then, but have your cozy cottage to return to :-)
Oh, I loved that little apartment she had in Minneapolis!
Totally understand the alone thing. That’s one thing about your blog that is so appealing, especially since my husband and I both work at home and NEVER leave. With teenaged boys, I’m ready for a little get-away in a cute apartment.
“You’re gonna make it after all . . .”
You are like Wonder Woman….. with an alter-ego! Seriously, I so can understand what you are saying. Not a vacation, because you are working, but a “break” of a kind ~ from daily “stuff”, the ever-present “to do” lists, and even a change in scenery outside the window ~ (but not expecting building projects!!). I think the break does us good, and when we come home we appreciate all of the little things so much more. Even the mundane seems a bit shinier after missing it a bit!
Will be fun to hear about Scout’s return home as well as yours.
Safe travels as you head homeward bound! (now I will have that song in my head all day!)
Me too! A little Simon and Garfunkel.
So glad you were able to see opening night. Break a leg, y’all.
I’m happy I got to stay here, Tana.
You are indeed blessed to have the Mary Tyler Moore experience, and the white cottage/hubby base experience to return to…blessed indeed! I totally get it! Hope opening night goes well…safe travels tomorrow! ;)
Thank you, Donnamae!
Claudia, I simply call that,Making the best of things! Nothing wrong with that at all.
Please Drive Safe. -Judy A-
I will, thanks Judy!
Ah yes, totally understand Claudia. I think you and I are very much alike in that regard (as well as others!!). Love the MTM name for it also — perfect! Well, enjoy opening night and safe travels to you and Scout tomorrow. Have a lovely weekend home.
I think I have a lot of ‘chores’ ahead of me, Vera.
Claudia, my feeling after reading your note today is Life is Good. Take care, Doris
It is. Thanks, Doris.
Oh Claudia sometimes I just long for some time alone. Because I babysit Mon. -Fri. there’s always a little one in the house which I love of course because those little hugs and kisses keep me going but it seems like I never have a moment alone. My husband is here at night and on the weekends and I love him dearly but those rare times when he drives his mom out of state to visit her family and I stay home are a treat for me. I can understand that you enjoy your time when you are alone. My husband, bless him, doesn’t understand my need to be alone at all. Thank goodness your Don understands. Hope you have a safe trip home and find all well there upon your return.
I hope you can grab some more alone time, Janie. I think there are those of us who really crave it.
I get it…I was alone 6 years between husbands ..My second died 10 years ago and I’m very content with my dog and cat..Not a real fan of walking her first thing every morning but it goes with the territory and is good for me..Happy opening night…All your hard work comes to fruition…
Yes. It will be good to see the show open, Missy.
I get it too Claudia..Total “ME” time is good for the body and soul sometimes..Enjoy your drive home..
Hopefully, the weather will be nicer tomorrow, Nancy!
Two more lovely posts today, Claudia. Thank you for the respite. Loved the Mary Tyler Moore reference. You must be looking forward to sleeping in your own, comfortable bed tomorrow night. And I think you are right to plan some activities for Scout, to take her on some little doggy adventures. Safe travels tomorrow!
Yeah, I like the Mary Tyler Moore life in small doses as well. Glad to have a hubby who understands that I need to retreat!
I love your stories like this. I too love the solitary (save my pup) life of a small one bedroom. Plug in the vacuum once and done! I also like the thought that I could still find someone to share my life with and be just as happy. I am almost 46 so older than you were. But it could happen. ;) Thank you for sharing.