House sitting has become a

way of life for a friend of mine.

At the age of seventy-two she had the courage to leave her abusive husband. He was mentally rather than physically abusive but it was still abuse and it affected her very badly indeed.

Quite what happened to finally make her leave is something she has not shared with anyone, not even her children. They live elsewhere. She left one day when he had gone to play golf. Normally his golf partner's wife would have been there in the house but there was nobody there so she packed her clothes into some garbage bags brought them around to me to store in our shed, took a taxi to the airport and a flight to her son interstate. 

"I can't live with them. They have three children. There is no room,"she told me as she was leaving, "They can have me for a couple of weeks. I am going to try and get some house sitting work. Will you back me up?"

I thought of her immaculate house, her genuine love of animals and gardening and said "Yes" without hesitation. She signed up with an agency and provided them with some references. Would it work? 

It has worked extremely well. It has been a far greater success than anyone thought possible. While she goes through the process of divorce from someone who still wants to control every part of her life she has somewhere to live. She has not even had to go back to her son for more than two nights here and one night there. The agency she signed with knows her situation. They also know she is absolutely reliable. 

With her son's help she bought a reliable car and she is travelling across the eastern states. Her last "house sit" was quite remote. She had cats, dogs, a horse, sheep and an alpaca to care for while she was there. The house was lovely and there was a swimming pool she could use. "It was a five week holiday," she told me, "And they have asked if I could do it again at the same time next year. Even if I have my own place by then I will. They were such nice people."

There have been a couple of not quite so good short stays but she has just shrugged when she told me about the dog who refused to go for walks and the cat who disappeared (but came back before his owners did). She can handle those things. 

It isn't something she wants to do for too much longer but it has let her see something of the country and her "about to be ex-husband" has not been able to harass her in quite the same way. He doesn't know where she is.

House sitting won't suit everyone and she knows she has been lucky. The agency has been good to her - but then they have a good person on their books. 

I had an email from her yesterday. They want to know if she would take on a six week position in another country. It's an unusual situation and involves being a companion to a very elderly woman. There will be "house staff" to do everything else. She just needs to be company for a set number of hours a day. Is she going to do it?

"Why not? If I hate it then it is only for six weeks but they sound as if they care about their mother so I think it will be nice."

Life has become an adventure for her. I wonder how soon she will get her own little place - and whether the "adventure" might continue.