Surprises

Last week was a funny week for me – it was very quiet on the outside, but there was lots going on behind the scenes. This time, it had nothing to do with work or projects. This time, I was traveling from Dublin to Maine to surprise my family with a bonus visit! Only my brother knew, and he helped me with the rest of the logistics. I don’t think I’ve looked forward to something this much or wanted to repeat it as many times as last week. It was a blast and a blessing.

Living in Ireland is obviously exciting and fulfilling and wonderful in a lot of ways – Michael and I travel around Europe so much, we get to experience a different culture every day (for better or worse!), we get to live near the city and the sea, the butter tastes better… But living so far from my immediate family is hard most of the time. We have done really well in the last six years to cope with the distance, but it still remains that it’s hard to be the one who moved away. Very, expensively far away.

A few weeks ago marked six years since I have lived in Dublin. Michael and I reminisced about the morning I arrived, at 5am in the howling, windy rain. We have come so far since then, and I have come so far since then. Michael and I have made a home for ourselves, and I have made a career for myself. We are surrounded by family and friends, and we have our hilarious chickens and a cat that is currently being contracted out for some mouse retrieval.

Our life in Dublin is wonderful nearly all the time, but this year I have realized that part of my coping mechanism in the last six years might have been to convince myself I don’t want to move back home. I may very well have brainwashed myself out of homesickness. While we are simultaneously thinking about buying a house in Dublin, I find myself wondering and stewing over whether someday we should move back to America.

All that to say, while I hem and haw about where I’ll be the least homesick, it was so great to add another surprise trip to Maine this year. We found a really cheap flight and I managed to keep the secret for two months! I surprised my sister, my grandparents, and then my parents – and no one had heart attacks! I get to be in Maine for Thanksgiving this week, (and my birthday today!) and in fact we’ve already celebrated with two more Thanksgivings just for good measure.

If anyone wants to talk years on years of ex-pat homesickness and how to cope without brainwashing yourself, I’m all ears!