Well, that title and this first photo are somewhat misleading, as neither of these Easter-coloured doors leads the way to the place we now call home here in England. But they are darling. No, we live a little farther down the road and to the left in a newer build, all three levels of it. My feet did not understand what was happening as they led me up and down two separate sets of stairs during those first days in our rental as I tried to work out where two nutty dogs and a small child of mine were all located.
We have been here in York, England for just over four weeks now and the change has yet to hit me. The light is certainly different. Darker mornings, the evening darkness sets in much earlier in the day than I’m accustomed to. Even my trusty point and shoot is struggling to capture the light and balance out the color in my shots like the photo below. For the first time, sigh, I will have to actually crack open the manual and watch some photography tips on YouTube.
Moving during a pandemic?!
Yeah, that was certainly tricky. Months of planning, a five year old monkey clinging to me every step of the way, securing a dog-friendly rental from abroad and the shockingly pricey path to move our two 11 year old doggies here with us. Wooee! People have dealt with much worse since the outset of this pandemic and we chose our timing, so I will not complain. But, it was intense. So much fell into place for us (knock on wood as we continue to settle), we are very fortunate, and I am grateful to have a chance at a different life here.
Our new digs
My English husband and I have been together going on twenty-one years now, so I have seen specks of England during our trips here over the years. Visits in England were primarily based on seeing family and friends, so York was the setting for a night’s getaway, just the two of us, or a chance to catch up with Julian’s old pals and cousins who live nearby.
Those acquainted with the city know the deal with York – all things historical, Vikings, regular flooding. Once life safely opens up, it will be wondrous to take my little one to all the touristy spots and more. Popping to the city centre to make our own chocolate lollies, experiencing what the smells of old Jorvik were like – yes, please!
Looking ahead
The UK is rolling out vaccines like it is nobody’s business, and I am cautiously optimistic that we may very well have less depressing times this year. I can only imagine what life will be like as things open…and possibly close…before opening again. I see parallels between life here and the life Julian and I very much loved in Santa Fe, New Mexico years ago. Both spots are touristy cities, with abundant nature and countryside all around, the community’s love of food and drink – all fantastic things, if you’re like us!
Looking across an ocean
Half of our family and loved ones reside back in the United States. I have instilled in my daughter a sense that we will “pop back” on planes and “have lots of fun” during online chats (never mind spotty connections, dropped words and unflattering frozen faces) – but these things aren’t simple and I am sure challenges lie ahead. But at the same time, the world feels much smaller to us. Work is easily managed wherever the laptops can be plugged in, so it’s easy enough to pack up and go. And, the school holiday schedule here in England provides a huge advantage when planning trips back to the US. Here, in lieu of the 2.5 month summer break I so enjoyed growing up with in sunny Southern California, we’ll instead have plentiful breaks throughout a longer school year, with a shorter summer session.
My grandma immigrated to the United States from Colombia in the 1960s and upon hearing that we had decided to move away to a faraway country, she shuddered at her belief that she would never see us again. That’s how it kind of worked out for her and people she moved away from sadly. Her life was upended and she started from scratch not even having a firm grasp on the language in her new land at that time. Ours is different story so far. In a recent chat with my folks, they said my grandma was open to the idea of coming out to see us when the world opens up again, hooray for that! I think she has many more adventures before her in her life. And we certainly plan to get back to the US as much as possible. There we go again with all that good fortune (knock on wood once again), lots of lovely people in our lives who want share time with us.
For now, I can’t wait to scout out the very best spots to eat and walk. And to figure out how to catch the light with my camera better, ugh.
Enjoyed your blog post
Thank you, Mom!