one-and-a-half weeks

I drove into the driveway this morning after being away from home for 1.5 weeks. That really isn't a long time, so I didn't have too many expectations for what I would find--especially since we had arranged for a very helpful helper to water our garden and check our mail.

However, I was a bit surprised to find myself confronting so much "change" in so little time. Here is what I found:

• Growing plants! Our tomatoes are almost ready to be picked, the zucchini plant doubled in size, and the roses bloomed. Wow. Our helpful helper weeded; otherwise, I'd be digging out a little jungle.
• Decaying food. I cleaned the fridge of the following spoiled items: milk (past due last week), plain yogurt (so much for chicken tikki masala), tomatoe paste, and a few bites of melon. Amazingly, the artichoke hearts swimming in a brine of vinegar and oil have survived the last 7 months.
• Disorder. I knew I wasn't leaving the house in perfect order last week, but I found I needed a good hour to just straighten things...let alone clean them (on today's afternoon list).
• School starting! Today was the first day of school! Since we don't have kids, this wouldn't necessarily be a noticeable thing; however, since the school is located across the street, I am more than normally aware of the rhythm of elementary school life.

I have spent the morning dealing with these changes; but really, it is just nice to be back home.