Expat Stitches

I’ve organized all my travel related adventures under Sojourns. This is an area for the stories relating to the actual process of Relocation. Somebody told me I make it look easy, other folks tell me I’m crazy. The latter is definitely true but the stints across Europe are the result of wanting to keep our little tribe of three (plus 2 cats) together as work opportunities and family concerns propelled our trajectory.

Moving means giving up houses and gardens we loved, trees we befriended, the hedgehog in the garden, the deer that came to eat apples off the trees, the pheasants nesting in the tall spring grass and countless little birds – a woodpecker and a brave little Robin hold a special place in my memory. Leaving means seeing the friends we’d hang-out with, transform into a collection of pixels on our computers and phones – thankfully their images and voices still inspiring the bond of love and respect. But there are also always those faces that fade into memory – the grocery store clerk whose name I never learned, the old couple who swept their driveways hourly it would seem as they’d always be in the act when I’d pass, the friendly bus driver and train agent, the Pharmacist with the glasses slipping down his nose, and the gossiping retired men who hold court in the Piazzas of all the towns I walked through in Italy. 

It always takes a long time to settle into a new community, to get orientated with the languages (I am not a master of any or a quick learner). The challenges inspire lots of frustrated tears but also an appreciation for the many denizens in all the places we’ve lived who made us feel welcome and helped us find our way. My life has been a series of departures and arrivals.