well, time has come & gone. the holidays have come & gone. and this visit to the states has come & gone. tonight i will lay my head on my pillow in the lake house/cabin outside asheville, north carolina for the last time on this trip. and it makes my heart heavy, i must admit. even though it has been such a long trip, and we are so very lucky to have had so much time here, it is never enough. it never will be. and if we were here all the time, we would never have enough time in sweden. but, that’s just the way it goes in these international relationships. a blessing & a curse. two places to call home. two places to love, filled with people we love in each place. at all times our hearts will be yearning & longing for another place, while soaking up & enjoying where we are. we live a life of being torn between overflowing with joy and feeling heartbreaking homesickness all at once. every day. all the time. still, we always have 2 amazing places in our lives. and for that, we are so very lucky & blessed.
but, the reality of this moment is… we are flying home to sweden tomorrow. we’ve had dinner with my parents, my brother, & my sister-in-law tonight. super fun. tons of laughs. great food. we’ve given our hugs & said our goodbyes, and i know that it’s time to move on… for me, it’s time for a new beginning. time to get down to business. more work. more inspiration. more soaking in some swedish moments. and more travel around the world. it’s not a bad life, i have, ya know? yet, my eyes are still filled with tears.
so, my dear readers, i’m in transition mode now. ready to rejoin my everyday life as an expat. but not ready to leave my family again. ready to get home & enjoy all the simplicity & beauty of living in sweden, but not ready to leave my beloved, funky asheville.
thanks so much for keeping up while i’ve been over here in the states, and check back with me sometime on saturday after i am settled in my cozy, amazing swedish apartment again. it’s been so great to keep in touch with y’all over the holidays. your comments, like, and general presence here is such a blessing and inspiration to me. i’ll be sure to get back into my groove again after i recover from jet lag.
ok, 2013, let’s keep this incredible year going. i am am ready for the next part of my journey. my dreams are clear, i feel inspired, and i’m all about living this life to the fullest. today, no matter where i am, is going to be filled with fabulous adventures! i truly hope that your friday is fabulously adventurous as well.
the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~ eleanor roosevelt
Safe travels! Hope the jet lag is minimal! Borta bra men hemma bäst. Seems I might have heard a proverb like that somewhere 🙂
thank you! usually i get through the jet lag going this way a little easier. we’ll see!
As beautiful as your blog is, as beautiful and evocative as your photos are, your words in the first paragraph are so beautiful and so evocative. I am homesick too right now because of reading them and I am at home in my hometown. 🙂 My god Liz what a beautiful writer you are.
Safe travels. Good and healing thoughts to you.
Kate
i am deeply humbled and very touched by your kind words. it means so much to me to hear them. i will take them to heart & always cherish my opportunities for writing. thank you so much for reading and connecting.
love & peace to you, dear kate.
Safe travels! Looking forward to reading about your Swedish life again…. 🙂
thanks!! yay! we’ll see what kind of craziness i can get into next. 😉
Hope the trip home was uneventful! And may 2013 open up with miracles unfolding on every breath.
i wish the exact same for you. hugs.