Especially in a Pandemic, There’s No Place Like Home
By Bill Primavera
Judy Garland (as Dorothy Gale) said it best in “The Wizard of Oz:” There’s no place like home. Never has that rung truer than during the past few months when all of us have been quarantined in our domiciles. And, if we must stay close to home, it’s best that we enjoy being there.
Who at home cares if I don’t shave or brush my hair? Who at home cares if I choose to stay in my pajamas all day? Even better, who cares (much less knows) if I choose to “veg” out and do absolutely nothing but enjoy doing absolutely nothing? As a realtor, it wouldn’t be smart to stay home all day, especially at a time when city folk are clamoring to relocate from the teeming metropolis to the open spaces of suburbia which we enjoy in the area.
In a past generation, we didn’t have the Internet to connect us to the world, both to our work and the encyclopedia of information at our fingertips. In the old days, we might have had to rely on crossword puzzles and private reflection to keep us from going mad, anchored to one location, but that is not the case today. As long as the Internet works, we are without walls or boundaries. But still, sometimes we might feel that we absolutely must transport our bodies to another place.
This past weekend, after pretty much staying within the confines of our four walls for five months, we decided to venture out and take a one-day road trip. Fortunately, the options for one-day travel in our area are great, whether we choose to go north to the deep country, south to the city, or even east or west, no matter where they lead. We chose to go north to one of our favored destinations which is Hudson, New York, about an hour-and-a-half away. It’s an old 19th Century whaling town which today is a lively center of antiques stores, cafes and other attractions to draw visitors.
We stopped at a roadside stand offering honey and fresh donuts. Maybe it’s because we were hungry, but they were the tastiest donuts I can ever recall inhaling.
But by the end of the day of touring, we were happy to be back home where we could relax without having to worry about wearing a mask or maintaining our distance from other people.
So, what makes a great place to call home at a time when all of us are spending much more time there? Let me think about why and how we can all enjoy staying at home more as a pleasure than a restriction.
First, I would hope that we all live in attractive places where we can visually enjoy our surroundings. An inviting home will have good chairs in which you can sit comfortably and good beds that will lull you to sleep.
There will also be things to look at.
In the case of my wife and me, we have spent a lifetime collecting things: little antique treasures that recall a past lifetime that was slower. We don’t have a lot of clutter, but rather an edited collection of our favorite things. In my case, I like 19th Century oil portraits of “adopted” ancestors and antique playing marbles made of end-of-day glass. That glass made “swirlies” where streams of colored glass left over from a glass factory’s daily production when into these playing marbles with their twists and turns.
For years, my wife collected little boxes…pill boxes and other kinds of boxes made of porcelain and other materials.
Of course, there are television sets in every room to stay connected, and in our home, we purchased a good sound system to enjoy our favorite SiriusXM stations.
Actually, I should have listed first the accommodations to receive family and guests who currently can visit (with masks} to enjoy good company and lively conversation. It’s what we’ve missed most since the pandemic set itself upon us, but fortunately there is Zoom and cell phones, but those don’t fully take the place of being physically close.
Eventually there will be a vaccine and living will return to normal but, until then, we can count our blessings if we’re staying healthy and can look forward to when we can enjoy closer contact with our loved ones and friends.
Bill Primavera, while a writer and editor, is also a Realtor® associated with William Raveis Real Estate and Founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc. (www.PrimaveraPR.com). His real estate site is www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com. To engage the talents and services of The Home Guru to market your home for sale, call (914) 522-2076.
