Home is where the Heart is.

I’m home. I got home last night about 7pm. The flight from NYC to JAX was full, the plane was small and everyone was coughing, sniffling and only a few of us were wearing masks.
I didn’t get sick on this trip. I didn’t get diarrhea, and I figured I’d get some kind of Upper Respiratory Funk, but I didn’t. And I think it has a direct correlation to wearing a mask. When I wear a mask, I don’t touch my face. I don’t rub my nose or touch my mouth. And EVERYONE in Thailand or Malaysia are still wearing masks. It’s funny, I went from here (where mask wearing was such a political thing) to Thailand, where it is common courtesy n busy areas. Lol, and it’s always busy in Bangkok.
I did get to the point, where if I was outside and it wasn’t crowded, I’d take it off. You wear it around your forearm, and put it on and take it off all through out the day. And in the super crowded markets, I was glad to have it on.
I did also get a lot of rest, drank a lot of water, took a probiotic and Counter Attack immune support every day. ( Manda, Mom told me about it, and I took it before and during the trip! I really like it!) I also took a ton of prepackaged Wet Ones, and tried to clean my hands every time I was going to eat. I did notice in Bangkok; masks, hand sanitizer and hand wipes were sold everywhere. I mean everywhere. So it makes it easy. When I was in a mini-mart in the JFK airport, they weren’t selling masks, they were selling Covid tests. And that summed it up for me in a nutshell.
As I was coming home last night, I was noticing how smooth the roads were. And the absence of motorbikes. They are a perpetual buzz in your environment, and it was weird not seeing them.
Mom and I caught up over Pizza last night. I had been craving it for about a week now.
Cookie had a bit of a stomach ache; which leads her to lick the carpet, which gives her a hairball, which gives her a stomach ache , which then she sounds terrible as she tries to cough up the self inflicted hairball. Poor Mom had never seen her like that before. So when she left me a message as I was landing in JAX, describing Cookie’s behavior, I asked if she was licking the carpet obsessively ? Mom said yes, and I told her we had been through this before. And of course this is happening 20 minutes before I walk through the door. Mom was afraid she has aspirated something and was ready to take her to the Emergency Vet, which I appreciated. But Cookie settled down and got some Benadryl, and is all better now.
So Cookie and Frank both slept on either side of me last night. And I forgot how comfortable my bed is. And as I was sitting in my living room, when I first got home, I felt kinda weird. My house felt big and really really nice. I was thinking, I don’t need all of this. The yard always gets me when I come home from a big city. That I have all this land, lol. Like I should be growing corn in the backyard and have a chicken coop back there too.
And it’s nice also to think that I really don’t need all of this. It’s nice to have, but I’m definitely in favor of downsizing as I get older.
Bangkok was my favorite. I’d like to go back to Chiang Mai during the rainy season, when it’s quiet. But Bangkok had it all. New buildings, historical neighborhoods, amazing food, and apparently they have a big cultural center and several big museums. The Bangkok MOMA was having a Banksy exhibit. I would have loved to have seen that.
I could definitely spend a month or 2 in Thailand. It’s a nice rhythm to fall into.
And I went to the grocery store this morning, and drove for the 1st time in 3 weeks. The 1st thing I thought when I got in my car was, “ I could make some good money driving my car over there w/ Grab. It would definitely be considered a premium ride”. Lol.
So Frank is now in my lap and Cookie is in her favorite spot, in the sofa in the den, tucked in to my right. I am so fortunate and grateful. That this is what I get to come home too.
Thank you all again for coming on this journey with me. It didn’t feel so overwhelming knowing I could tell you guys the good, the bad and the delicious. Love to you all. ❤️Read more