Copenhagen to Seattle. Omer and Onward.
“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”
-Henry David Thoreau
Today we get on plane and leave Copenhagen, our ex-pat home for the last 2 1/2 years. We left our community in Seattle for adventure. To learn to live in new and wider ways. To watch our children become world citizens. And to take in countries on a continent that was not our own.
Little did we know it would be such a challenge.
Copenhagen has become to me what my Jewish ancestors call and Omer, an in-between time. In my internal narrative it has become a long pause between our “old” life in The Densmore House and our “next” life in The DensmoreHouse, seen now with new eyes. Our life here has been a long metaphysical Winter followed of late by an extended emotional Spring. I recently said to my fellow ex-pat friends, Katie and Kate, “Life in Denmark has certainty had it’s gooey caramel center, but it was surround by a big ball of steamed spinach.” Perhaps not the most appetizing of metaphors, but accurate nonetheless.
Here, in the middle of a physically and culturally chilly climate we have undergone a metamorphosis. Old ways of living – too rushed, to0 obligated, too angsty– have ebbed. And a new pace of family and community life has emerged. Along with this, I have come to find that I am no longer afraid of my work. And above all, the pain that plagued me for so many years has decreased in volume. Through struggle, through waiting, through the taking of the next step these things have come to pass in Copenhagen. Sometimes because of the place, and sometimes in spite of it. No matter. The point is, we have shed our illness. We are ready to emerge. To bloom. To blossom.
We are ready to ripen and pluck. To live a slower and more creative life. To be close to few, rather than available to many. To grow sugar-snap peas and to raise chickens. To move only as fast as our bodies can take us. To live in our dream house without the obligations that do not belong to us. To make a life with David and Barbi, with Jen and Paul — mashing all our children together into a happy clan. To sit at the table with Jenn. To meet people in real life, who before have only lived on our glowing screens. To let some people live a bit further away, but to keep others close.
We are ready to relish in the food we eat. To dress like ourselves. To have the secret of mysterious language, but to speak our most native tongue.
We are returning, but we are not going back. We are getting born.
16 comments
Beautiful.
beautiful! Peaceful travels today (and for all your forward motions in the next while, deep peace to you).
Hope you are having a good trip. I will be interested to read about your re-introduction into your old and new home. Something I often ponder.
going home, where you belong
nothing else like it
Travelling mercies to you, Rachelle.
~beautifully told…to the old yet new…may you flourish in your adventure and savor the memory…such growth and experiences seems you’ve had…safe travel and welcome home! warm wishes and brightest blessings~
How wonderful!!
Happy Birthday!
So happy for you, Rachelle!
This is beautiful and glowy and makes me so happy for you.
Fantastic. I too have been in omer, I think. But I don’t know if I have reached onward yet.
Beautiful – this left me smiling and happy for you.
I’ve been in omer for a while now – curious about what onward will look like.
Love this so much! Thanks for writing it! :)
Thank you for sharing the loveliness inside of your head! And good luck with the move…may that loveliness sustain you through the unpleasantness that is relocation.
beautifully said
I wanted to say something deep and heartfelt and touching, but we just took the girls to see Toy Story 3, and the only response I can think of to this post is… “To infinity, and beyond!” (which just might be deep and heartfelt after all). Here’s the the glorious conglomeration of old + new + HOME!
I hope you’re enjoying settling back into life in the US. I recently moved from Connecticut to Denmark. I’m on Southern Jutland and as much as I love living in Europe, some days are a real challenge and I just want to pack it in and go home. I totally get the spinach metaphor. I was not fully prepared for the culture shock and I miss the days when I could actually read my mail and chat with people in line at the store.
I’m on a 3 year work contract with the option to extend and no matter how long my Danish life lasts, I know I will have changed at the end of it, hopefully for the better. I do love riding my bike, though not so much in the rain ;)
Tell me all about it! Leave a Comment...