I was so happy to be home  I ran in tight little circles around the living room and practically jumped for joy when I saw Gus again, too. I don’t really do the jumping thing, but I kind of did on this particular occasion because I was so happy I couldn’t help it.

Jane said, “Cody, you always seem so eager to jump in the car, but home is absolutely your favorite place isn’t it?”

That’s when I explained it to her. I said, “Vacations are like going for a walk, but a little bit longer.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“They are great in both directions. But you know, sometimes we go away just so we can we can get to come home.”

“Oh,” she said. “Is that why you like to go on walks so much?”

“Well, that’s not the whole entire reason,” I said,” because walks are awesome all by themselves. But it’s very cool to get to come home because then we get to love where we are even more.”

“Wow,” she said. “That is pretty cool. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why you have me,” I said.

And then we hung out in the house for a little while and just looked at everything with a little bit more awe.  And everything tasted sweeter, even the water in my water bowl. And we were happy. And extra grateful.