I cried last night. Cinnamon cried too when I left her. Pets are unbelievably adaptable. Of course, they always desperately miss their owners, but they learn very quickly that when they have a new caretaker, you are the one who feeds them and plays fetch and takes them for walks. So of course, they enjoy your presence. You can’t tell them that their Mom and Dad are coming back. You just have to make them happy while you are with them.
So last night while I was packing up my tubs of clothes, I let Cinnamon hang out in the back yard, coming in and out as I came in and out, packing up the car. She sensed what was going on and got quieter. I could tell she was worried.
The house where I stayed was located close to the Blind School which plays full songs with their chimes every hour on the hour. For the 10 days that I stayed with her, as often as we could, Cinnamon and I would hang out in the back yard to hear the hourly song. It was a particularly sweet and special experience for me. I’ve always loved chimes (although I didn’t keep my own Grandfather clock wound up…go figure). So at 6pm, we got to listen to My Favorite Things. I’ve always loved that song and considered it apropos to my current life, since I had to spend so much time sifting through my accumulated stuff to end up with only my very favorite things. I thought of some of the things I had to give up and some of my few favorite things I’ve saved for when I have my own home again.
Then at 7pm, we heard Moon River. “Two drifters, off to see the world; there’s such a lot of world to see….” I loved seeing the wider world as a Pan Am flight attendant and now I am LOVING seeing the more micro worlds of different peoples’ lives through living in their homes and living with their pets. Cinnamon and I then went for our last walk together. When we got back, she hid under the kitchen table, which she had not once done in the whole time I stayed with her. She clearly knew that I was leaving her. We were both sad.
I was ready to go. I put her in her crate with her peanut butter-laced Kong, left the key on the kitchen table, locked the door and sat on the back patio to wait for the 8pm song of chimes. [Mom and Dad were arriving home at 9pm.] Sadly, before the chimes started, Cinnamon started crying inside which I hadn’t heard before. My heart broke. I cried too. Then an owl in a nearby tree hooted at us both…a harbinger of what? I wondered. And then the 8pm song started: Nat King Cole.
People stop and stare
They don’t bother me
For there’s no where else on earth
That I would rather be
Let the time go by
I won’t care if I
Can be here on the street where you live
Let me be on the street where you live
Cinnamon cried, I cried, the owl hooted, and chimes sang about wanting to be on the street where someone else lives. I got in my packed car and drove to my next home.
Jyoti's Great Adventure 