On Sitting… Housesitting

I’m very lucky for a number of reasons. I was born in the United States at a time when guns are basically everywhere, fascism is on the rise, the economy seems to collapse every few years, and major corporations dictate every facet of our social and political lives. Wait a second…oh sorry, I’m reading from the wrong list. That was from my nihilism folder… here’s what I’m looking for: my parents live in the same city as I do, they have a beautiful house with air conditioning, they live with my favorite dog in world (Sophie, who has already been the star of one of these essays), and also a cat lives in their house (she’s cute but screams at you to let her in/out/escort her to her food/just because she feels like it at all hours of the day and night). Put all these factors together and it should be pretty obvious why I enjoy housesitting for them so much.

Now before I dive into all of the wonderful aspects of housesitting, it’s not all pools and air condition and fridge-raiding and cable watching! Especially when you’re housesitting for someone who you aren’t blood related to, it can be unbelievably stressful. Every person, every couple, every household has their own way of doing things. Every house has its own organizational system, its own special rules, and its own room that nobody is allowed into chock full of chairs and couches that are not to be sat on with shelves of things that are not to be touched and art that is not to be looked at.

And none of that even touches on what it’s like if the house contains one (or, god forbid, MORE) fussy animals! Sometimes they’re pouty that their family is gone, or destructive, or difficult, or maybe just sad (this one is clearly the worst and it hurts my soul when animals are sad).

But when things are right, when they’re low stress… house sitting is the best. Going from a small apartment with constant freeway noise and no air-condition to a house with lots of space, cool air in every room, a pool, and exciting new shampoos and soaps? That’s heaven. And to make it super-ultra-heaven (where only the chilliest and most dope Angels get to hang out) the homeowner will tell you to help yourself to whatever you want to eat or drink. Then it becomes a bacchanal of deli meats, leftovers, frozen meals, fancy crackers and even fancier cheeses!

It becomes a little vacation where you get to relax and see what it’s like to live in someone else’s house, wake up with their view, feel the water pressure in their shower, drink their coffee, and stub your toe on their awkwardly placed furniture. It’s so important to get a chance of scenery every now and then, especially when we’ve all been stuck looking at the same walls for so long and if you can get paid a couple bucks for that vacation? Well then dig through the pantry, grab a cold beverage, and sit back because you’ve made it (until the owners get home and ask if you really ate ALL their tortilla chips).

Do you love house sitting like me or does it stress you out? What’s your favorite house to… uh, sit?