Refill

Why coming back might be better than moving on

Have you ever stopped just to take in where you’re at? Like seriously sat down and just stared? I’m trying to be more mindful of that myself. That means I’m currently overlooking a small vineyard at my current housesit’s property. Row after row of green grape vines strung along with little itty-bitty baby grapes starting to form. It’s a beautiful property with an easy dog. It’s so easy to relax after hours and really sink into the peaceful vibe of the area.

I count myself lucky that we were invited back to come here. The homeowners are so friendly and even with their lack of experience with the service they’ve been so great about leaving space for us as guests in their house. We don’t want for anything and it’s been so easy to exist here in their space while they’re gone.

There’s a lot here that’s rare. A return housesit first off, but then the addition of a homeowner having and curating a space for their guests. So far, this is our second return visit, but we’ve got one more booked immediately after this so really it’s three return sits within three months — that feels like really great stats. So not only did we know exactly what we were getting into here with Marmaduke the giant lab, but we also knew we would have the space to unpack and really settle in.

Not every house is built for that — some are tight on space when you’re in a city like DC where no one has space, but even in some of the more suburban or even more remote sits we still find we’re lacking closet and dresser space and are forced to live out of suitcases. Those are still great sits, but it does leave us questioning the returnability. Having the space to get ourselves settled so we can work and organize our personal things is starting to matter more and more as we travel.

It matters so much, in fact, we’ve started our own personal tracking system of all these houses to better remember which we could actually unpack and felt most comfortable in and could most easily see ourselves returning to. A tracker that is more important now that we’re 20+ sits in. We didn’t know much at the beginning of things, but now we know more exactly what we’re looking for and what we pass on. For example, now we know we need somewhere quiet for calls and not a giant open space.

One thing I didn’t think of being as big a thing as it has been is the general concept of returnability. Going in, I expected to visit a sit once and move on. Now I’m evaluating each sit for if I would come back. Nomading around is great, but finding those small pockets to return to offers a value I severely underestimated at the onset of this adventure.

That thought is part of what brings me out here tonight. I’ve been here before — a different time, a different season, but the same house. And I find that there’s a different kind of adventure to be had when you move beyond the shiny newness of the first time around.