While moving into my current house, my family spent a lot of time at the old house prepping things while I maintained occupancy of the new house, so of course I was here alone most of the time. I do work from home. I specifically chose this house because, among other reasons, there are no neighbors near enough to encounter by accident. I don’t really go anywhere on a regular basis. As a result, most days the first time I spoke was at my morning meeting; on many occasions it was the last, too. Even better, I was having sinus issues, so until I opened my mouth I was never sure my voice would be there, let alone how it would sound. (Once or twice I did say a few test words to myself to make sure I could be heard.)

There are a lot of things I miss about those times, but I’m much happier now with my family here. I remember that, when we all came up together to buy the house, my kid had left a little rubber dinosaur on the back of one of the toilets, so I saw it every time I used the facilities. It was the first time I’d spent any significant amount of time away from my kid since they’d been born and I was stunned by how much emotion such a simple reminder of their existence elicited.

I still don’t really talk to anyone else, though.