Recently, I met someone who relocated to the area from Boston. She was younger than me; maybe in her mid-twenties. When I asked what brought her north, she smiled and excitedly told me that she just couldn't wait to get out of the city and give her dog a backyard to play in. She has no ties to the area, but started looking for houses and found exactly what she wanted, and went for it. I was touched by that answer, and also totally impressed by it. 

It's no secret that on average, people are waiting to buy homes longer than they did in years past. There are many reasons for that, but the trending delay in big life milestones like marriage, children, and homebuying are all kind of lumped together. Societal norms are ever-changing, yet it's easy to find ourselves wrapped up in what's expected of us and over-assess where we measure up to that expectation.  

That interaction has stuck with me for a few days, because I just felt it was so admirable. I have never been one to have the kind of guts to just up and relocate to an entirely new place on my own, but I have some envy for people who have that kind of wanderlust and confidence. Whether she stays in her new house forever or just for a short time, she will always be able to look back and say that she bought her dog a house, and she did it completely on her own. I wonder if that dog knows they're the luckiest pup in the world. If not, they're about to find out as soon as the back door opens and they step out onto grass and into nature instead of a busy city sidewalk.  

Paige O. Roberts has a degree in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Henniker Review, Sidereal Magazine, Rejection Letters, and Cypress. She has been nominated for a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize. She lives in northern New Hampshire, where she owns and operates a pet boutique called Tailswag.