Home

I'm currently homeless. I moved all my belongings to DC last week, into my new apartment with my lovely partner. But I still have a job in Chicago, at least for the next few days. So I'm staying with friends. I've been couch-surfing for a week or so and as a passive guest, one who doesn't require or even desire much attention, I've been enjoying watching how other people live their lives at home. How quickly they get ready in the morning, what they eat, what they watch on tv, whether they do the dishes right away or leave them for tomorrow, the sort of things they do when they're at home, with no particular agenda.

I'm not used to being around active people. You know, the sort of people who get shit done? Me and my partner, and my family members, and most of the people I've dated, are not those sort of people. The one thing I do at home that does not constitute "lazing around" is cook, and even that is a fairly recent development. I do laundry only when I have worn the last clean pair of underwear. I do not putter around picking things up. I do chores only with great difficulty and mustering of will. No, the majority of the time I am home, I am still. I am reading, usually, whether it's blogs on the internet or a book. Sometimes I watch tv, but not usually. Or I am sleeping. And when I am with my partner at home, we sit and talk. For hours. Sometimes snuggling in the bed, sometimes sitting on the couch. That's what I do. Talk. Read. Sleep. And cook, sometimes.

Isn't that what home is for? What do you do at home?