This vacation was special. After being away for 3 years; reconnecting with family, friends, country and culture, filled me in a way I did not realize I needed. The value of home and roots came through with lots of energy. I found myself running up the hills of Ericeira and stepping differently, with more belonging maybe, full rights. I even got to imagine the previous generations, walking, most likely not running, up those same hills, oblivious to the other side of the Atlantic, where I currently call home. My mind travels when I run, the movement! My kids, in their own way, seemed to be feeling something similar; more sources of love.
I reconnected with more heart and soul this time.
The experience of finding yourself on someone else’s turf and making it home, temporarily or not, is one that cannot be reproduced any other way. It’s a challenge full of learnings. It creates agile and outward looking humans. I see that in family and friends, especially those who moved as children and teens, brought up in multiple cultures. We live in a world full of possibility, change is part of the definition of stability. The world is there for us. We even have our own very fluid ‘third culture’. We have friends all over the world!!
The fact that the world is full of beautiful places and people makes it hard for those of us with a more nomadic spirit to settle. Every place has something special. How to choose? I don’t want to choose. Maybe I never will. I have tried. As a child I was curious about what was hiding behind the horizon, now that I’ve seen it I want more. Still, as I was reminded this summer, it’s great to be able to put a dot on the map and call it home.
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