The Jet-Set*

The words and phrases vary – jet set, big-time travelers, world-travelers, living the high-life, globe-trotters – but most all of them have been said to us, in one combination or another. The tones have ranged from wistful to envious to resentful as the wishes have been voiced, “I wish I could go there / do that / live there.”

Dear Friends, you can go there / do that / live there! It’s EASY! Here’s how:

• Step One: Rid yourself of your house. You can either sell it outright, rent it out, or allow the bank to repossess it — it’s what all the cool kids are doing now.
• Step Two: Rid yourself of your cars, and most of your possessions. Garage sale, flea market, Freecycle: go!
• Step Three: Earn an advanced degree, and get some serious student loan debt going.
• Step Four: Be unable to find work in your home state in your degree field, or be unable to find work in academia in any other state which provides benefits, but many will be eager to hire you as an adjunct, for an hourly rate which you might have earned your first year in college.
• Step Five: Decide to live as inexpensively as you can, work where you can, and do the best you can to both make ends meet, and be happy. This last point is key – do your best, make ends meet, be glad. It’s what a lot of people are doing these days.

Friends, it’s just as simple as that!

Okay, no it’s not. Simple, that is. It’s complicated, as is all of life.

See, here’s the thing: a blog is only so much of one’s life. There is only so much of a personal journey that is open to public consumption. Much of the struggle and angst and despair that goes on in the background, you have no idea about… so the enviously tossed-off phrase, “Wow, you guys are just jet-setters now!” — is not only inaccurate, but allows you to believe something about us which allows you to feel free to hate us just that tiny bit, because we’re so lucky, we should be impervious to hurt. Or whatever.

That’s actually the same kind of thought-process it takes for an individual businessman to eventually embezzle millions from a corporation – “Meh, they have so much, they won’t notice.” Just a little contempt, because someone else is so lucky. Sure, we are awfully blessed, but a.) you don’t know at what cost, and b.) whatever the cost is, we’re paying it, and no one else.

This is not to say that we can control how people feel – nor do we want to! We all observe and pass judgment on all kinds of things in our own heads. Having lately been on the receiving end of a lot of assumption, though, we’re merely suggesting that things are not always as they appear… It’s a good realization for us, and will enable us to think twice before we speak.

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One of the nicest things, these warm summer mornings, is to waken before the sunrises, and just… listen.

The crickets chirp, intermittently; a musical cadence that first lulls us to sleep, then accompanies us into wakefulness. There’s the liquid warbling of some bird or other, around about four a.m. — followed by the high-pitched screech of a hunting owl, the alarmed squeak of its prey, and then, as the light bleeds into gray, a staccato high-pitched trill, as another bird stuns insects into submission through the power of its call. The grass rustles, the trees susurrate in the breeze, and the young fawns pick their way delicately across the lawn, following their doe.

For now, no one is beating a lawn into submission with a mower, no one is blowing leaves, sweeping sidewalks, and not even the sprinklers have yet sputtered to life. In the earliest hours of the day, suburbia belongs to the birds and the beetles.

It is simply lovely.

It’s been so nice to just be here – because our family wanders in and out at odd hours. Auntie Bean stops by with Meyer Lemons from her tree, and bits of casseroles, and news. T’s older sister drops by before work – often to cadge a bite of breakfast or something for lunch. Her little brother roller blades over to mow the lawn, and make himself generally amusing and useful. Her father wanders by, waves, and wanders off again. Her eldest sister and mother phone every afternoon, “just to check in.” It’s a privilege to be close enough to do all of these things, and it makes us glad that we’ll be here much more often.

The week will get busy soon – very busy, with work meetings for both D and T, errands and small tasks which will consume the hours – but we’re surrounded by the good from all directions – from the first birdsong in the morning, to the last tight squeeze from a haven’t-seen-you-in-five-years-how-are-you!? visitor at night.

Home. A malleable concept just now, which morphs into meaning so many different things.

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The Great PR House Hunt will on soon! Stay tuned…

-D & T

“Jet set” is a 1950’s phrase which sprang up with the advent of mass air travel – only the wealthy flew more than once in a blue moon, because the price was prohibitive, but also because only the wealthy had places to go which weren’t more reasonably reached by car or bus. Car and bus would not really get us either to Scotland or PR, at least not all the way.