Every Place We've Ever Been
Visiting our roots, and anticipating our future
Michal and I have been taking a break from writing and recording while we travel. We strive to balance consistency with authenticity, and feeling pressured to get something out never feels as genuine as writing about what has naturally floated to the surface.
Next week we return to Porto to a whirlwind of change — our new apartment is finally ready for us! We will be moving into and furnishing our new home, something we have been eagerly anticipating for three long years. With that excitement on the horizon, our future and our life in Porto is very much on our minds, even as we visit Canada — our former home. Through my efforts to promote the book I’ve written about my parents’ lives before they became my parents, I’m also drifting into learning and nostalgia about roots planted in places I never knew as home, yet are part of my history nonetheless. It’s fascinating how easily the mind moves between past, present, and future — completely different realities — and yet all of them feel familiar.
Yesterday I visited the house my grandfather built and where my dad grew up. I met the current owner, and he kindly showed me around. He was as eager to hear about the origins of the house he calls home as I was to simply be there and see it.
It got me thinking about how our lives are never lived in isolation — even in more individualistic societies like those in North America. The places we live and work are changed by our having been there. I appreciate that reminder as we move into a new apartment in a city we are making our own. Our presence there is already changing the place — just as my ancestors changed the places they lived and worked.
As we head toward our new front door in Porto, we’re carrying all of it with us — the places our ancestors called home, the places where we have lived our own lives, the reminder that the places we inhabit are never just ours.
We’d love to hear from you: what places have shaped you, even the ones you never called home?
How are you handling the ups and downs of relocating? Tell us about your journey.
We are planning our new season of the Relocurious podcast, where we will explore the effect a relocation can have on creativity. If you missed our previous episodes, this summer is a great time to catch up! You can find all our episodes here (or wherever you download your podcasts): https://www.relocurious.com/podcast
My mom has a great Relocurious story, and we tell it in By Happenstance: The Stories of My Parents Before They Were My Parents. Mom immigrated from Liverpool, England, to a remote community on the west coast of British Columbia — a move that completely changed her life.
If you enjoy real-life stories of people making bold choices and living adventurous lives, you’ll love By Happenstance (available in paperback or ebook).
Learn more here: By Happenstance – Books