This morning we packed up, cleaned up and moved out of our housesit.
I missed the dogs before I'd even left.
But it was such a joy to replace that time and energy with a visit to see friends.
The first stop was near St Kilda to catch up with a friend and her new husband. It was fun to finally meet him since I remember her telling me about them when they first met!
Because they live so far away from us and their wedding was overseas, we just hadn't managed to get the four of us together.
Until today. At a bagel shop. For an hour and a half.
Precious time, given that I consider her one of my closest friends, and yet, we are rarely in the same place. And I had wanted to meet him, not just because he's now married to my friend, but also because his work is similar to mine and I knew we'd have a lot in common.
Next, we headed south to the Mornington peninsula to see another friend I hadn't seen in years. In fact, I think it had been at least three years since I saw her last.
We visited her at home, where her two gorgeous dogs met us enthusiastically at the door. Brad went for a run while I helped her with a couple of things; she has a chronic illness and has limited mobility in her arms.
And between belly rubs for the dogs, her and I had a rare, long conversation about all family and fights, trauma healing and travelling, and... how much she loves her air fryer 😆
It wasn't long before we needed to hit the road again. We want to get to Merimbula tomorrow, so the further we (Brad!) could drive this afternoon, the easier tomorrow would be.
I found a place online in Traralgon and after getting a quick bite to eat at the local Zambreros, we rolled into the motel in the light evening rain.
It wasn't until we dropped our stuff in the room that I realised what a relief it was to not have dogs to care for.
The last 11+ days, across two different housesits back to back had taken their toll, more than we'd realised.
And while this is a simple, humble motel room, it feels like it's ours. At least, for tonight.
(Photo of a tram in Melbourne, taken by me as Brad expertly wound through unfamiliar streets to get me to my friends.)
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