My friends, these are the basic elements of a good and happy life. This assumes, of course, that people are of the Earth, built from dust or slime or whatever your faith and logic will allow.

I am back from my long weekend away and comfortable in the knowledge that, even though I have had some great vacations with the important people in my life, this was the best weekend I’ve ever had. Be it a result of refreshed consciousness or amazing surroundings or the company I kept, or all of the above (which is most likely), I’ll take it.

I’m a bit tired and possibly jet-lagged, but let me share a few of the things about this trip that surprised me the most:

1. Cats can suck it. I am now firmly in the Dogs Rule camp, and they know an easy mark when they see one. Although this was not the first (second, third, fourth…) time I have let a puppy kiss me on the lips, it was the turning point between thinking “Most dogs are okay and Teddy is awesome” to “Cute puppies make everything better and how will I manage without one?” Because the foreseeable future is not a good time for me to be a single puppy parent.
2. I played Rock Band, y’all. On XBox 360. Backed by an expert guitarist, I sang Margaritaville and Last Train to Clarksville and Enter Sandman and Dani California and some others… And, can I just tell you? I rocked the fucking house. 😉 And then I reverted to type and played Boogie Bunny, a Snood-like game populated by an army of multicolored bunnies.
   (When you lose the game, the bunnies heave a collective and heartbreaking sigh of disappointment, even though the object of the game is to blow them away. It’s very upsetting to let all those bunnies down.)
3. I have completely forgotten why I left the West Coast and come up with a million reasons to move back. I have miles to go before I sleep over here, but I can easily define the moment when I will know it’s time to pack my stuff and get back to where I can breathe freely.
4. I don’t hate Sacramento. I was totally ready to hate Sacramento, being an East Bay, er, “native” and all, but I was charmed. Charmed and excited. Charmed and excited and full of ideas.
5. I used to think that some things never change, and that is true. But it is also true that sometimes things you figured would never change can actually get even better. People grow, seasons change, and what matters, what’s most important, becomes clearer with time. In the end, our instincts really are pretty good at keeping us on track for happiness.

And what do I take away from my trip over the rainbow?

I learned that, if I ever go looking for my hearts desire again… I shouldn’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with. 

Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz