I am never ready to come home from a trip. The escape from reality and responsibilities along with the sights and sounds so different from my normal day-to day fill my soul.
The one enormous exemption to this reluctance to say goodbye to a travel destination comes in the form of a little green bird waiting for me on the other side of the big silver bird landing back in Philadlephia.
As my husband pulled our car up in front of our house after eight days in Seattle where we attended a Seahawks game, I was excited. I could see the light on in our living room through the semi-open blinds; Piper was in there.
As Mister Rain approached our porch ahead of me, he stopped. “Oh my god. You’re not going to believe what Kat did.”
“What is it?,” I asked, a jolt of adrenaline energizing my flight-weary bones.
“Take a picture of the top pumpkin,” he instructed. Before we left for Seattle, we had decorated our porch with two round, orange symbols of fall, a hay bale and a cornstalk tied to one of the columns. It was now a few days before Halloween.
I appreciated him allowing me to experience whatever it was that our Piper / house sitter Kat had done on my own without giving away the surprise.
The sensor light from our security camera cast enough of a glow that I could see something on the larger of the two pumpkins. I held up my phone and clicked the camera button, eagerly bringing the device close to my face.
The photo I took showed a painting of Piper in a Seahawks costume. I was completely gobsmacked. It was absolutely incredible. Kat has previously left drawings of Piper for us, a clay sculpture of him and also a tiny origami. I knew she was a fantastic artist but her latest creation was on a whole other level.
As talented as she is when it comes to creating art in different mediums, and make no mistake, she is, Kat’s most important gift is the love and care she provides our feathered and furried family members so that we can explore the world. As much as I love travel, I love Piper more. If I didn’t feel that he was in exemplary hands while I am away, I would not go. Because of Kat, I can.
Kat And Piper
And because of Kat, the Great-est Pumpkin I had ever seen welcomed me home. It was magnificent. I wanted to take it inside, study it in the light. There would be plenty of time for that though. Right now, there was a healthy, happy Piper waiting for me.
Because of Kat.
#SisterRain #ALittleSightALotOfHeart #Piper #BirdMom #Conure #Parrot #AdoptDontShop
