~
Feel like a stranger
Living in a foreign land
Miss my family
~
Childhood memories
From a different time and place
Miss my country
~
Thanksgiving didn’t used to be a sad time of year for me, until a couple of years ago. A lot has shifted in these past two years, and I feel more and more disillusioned about living here. Perhaps it’s a sign of growing older, or looking back with nostalgia on my own childhood get togethers.
I am grateful for loving friends and connections, good health, yoga, a past rooted in Scotland…. and America as my adopted home.
Carry on Thanksgiving.
I can see why you would be nostalgic Val.. Scotland holds its own special vibration. Happy Thanksgiving in your adopted home Val. ❤
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Thank you dear Sue ❤️
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❤
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Happy Thanksgiving Val. I wish for you a gentle, loving heart filled with the joy of time spent surrounded by loved ones as you share in the special bonds of being together. ❤
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Thank you Louise x
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During the holiday season, I’m often home sick for my home state of Virginia. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving, Val.
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Thank you Jill. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours 💕
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I feel very much like you do on this holiday. As well as so many other times. You spoke my words for me. Hope you find a way to make Thanksgiving all it can be this year.
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Thanks Marlene. Your words are a comfort! I also broke a molar yesterday, which has put me in the dumps. It never rains but it pours. But I am well and I am here. Thinking of you over the Holiday 💕
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A very heartfelt post. I especially miss my mom at the holidays and she’s been gone over 30 years.
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Thank you for your kind words Kate. Its a time for opening our hearts, and it isn’t always easy to be with the sadness of loss. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your tribe 💕
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Me too, Val. But for me, it’s not so much a place I long for . . .
Sometimes we want to go “back in time”
We yearn for days of yore
It’s harder to give thanks here and now
When the ghosts of Holidays past beckon
With childhood scents and sounds
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Smiling …. How lovely! Thanks Nancy. 💕
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Val,
You bring so much light into the lives of those who come in touch with you in your adopted country. I, for one and I’m sure there are many, others, am grateful that your wisdom has softened the hard edges of our lives. Thank you for giving so freely of your spirit..
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Pat, thank you for your kind words and warm heart. I am very touched. 💕
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours 🙏
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Happy Thanksgiving Val. A beautiful post.
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Dear Val…I understand these feelings. I feel them so some degree most days. Rooted in a longing that often defies description; the feelings are deep. You are a treasure on this often sad and weary planet. Your light is bright and serves as a beacon for many of us. Blessings to you on this Thanksgiving holiday. I’m grateful for you. 💜🙏🏻
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Happy Thanksgiving wishes! Gratitude sometimes brings up grief – to my surprise this year this is how I have been feeling. Yet I celebrate the opportunity to take a look at how Gratitude feels to me today, it has always enriched my life in different ways. Your post brought up these thoughts for me 🙂
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Sending lots of light and love to you Val during this time. I hope your tooth gets better and you are surrounded by peace 💚💕🙏🏻
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The holidays are a challenging time… Norman Rockwell vs. reality. I have to keep reminding myself to keep it real and simple in the midst of the general hysteria. Wishing you quiet joy and peace in the days ahead.
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Age and the consequence of time and events beyond our control can drain our peace from us, make harsh that which was once so comforting. I hear you Val. Time will tell, but your heart remains as wide and strong as is needed to brave all storms. Especially being from the land of Scots originally. ❤
– Esme Cloud giving thanks for knowing her friend Val x
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Thank you so much Esme. With the realization of shifting times and perspectives, Thanksgiving itself was a fun day. Thanks to our 9 year old American nephew who wanted more real family in his life! Hearts open and expectations change. 💕
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There comes a turning point, doesn’t there, when the future seems so much smaller than the past, when limitations seem to outnumber options? And yet perhaps there’s a freedom in having rolled past that point, in having done what was to be done, and done it well, for the weal of others, which you have. Home is . . . well, you know where the home is. H ❤
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Thank you Hariod for your loving response and perspective. It is always welcome. 💛Letting go of comparisons has been helpful, as well as being open to the new unfolding. Thanksgiving turned out to be fun, as our 9 year old American nephew wanted to embrace the extended family and how we live! So curious and smart 😎
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Happy Thanksgiving Val. I get it.
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Thanks Dave. The sadness lifted when our visitors arrived and were so appreciative. The sun shone. Cold as hell, but gratitude prevailed 💛
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So glad…
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You certainly need your middle ground
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Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving, Val. I, too, understand your feelings of sadness and nostalgia. So easy to get swept up in the ‘must be a Martha Stewart holiday’ frenzy, when the reality can be much different. Hoping your tooth is better very soon and that you find a pocket of love, peace and smiles in this day.
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I can understand the way you feel (well, almost). I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving Val.
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Have a happy Thanksgiving anyway, Val. Love that pic of you!
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There’s no place like home….Happy Thanksgiving Val! xxxxxx
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I think we will always feel the pull of home, no matter where we are. I hope you have a good Thanksgiving, Val!
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I feel the same way, Val. A lot has shifted and I find myself going “back home” more often now. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.
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Val, I appreciate this honest reflection from you. I have never wanted to leave the US as badly as I did when the last president was elected. I woke up with the heaviest sense of dread I’ve ever experienced. Yet when I consider leaving the country I grew up in, I falter. It’s easy, in theory, to make this sort of shift. And I would survive and probably even thrive. But one grows up in a certain culture, and the US is nothing like Scotland or anywhere else. I found, just visiting Scotland many years ago and Ireland under two years ago, an amazing difference in scale. Villages, yes, but even in cities, an earthy grounded feeling. People out walking, feelings of connectedness and community. History everywhere, in the stones, the soil, in lochs and architecture. Solid. Magical. Culture permeates culture.
I left Ireland most recently a bit wistful, but upon reflection, I realize, when given a choice, I like the wide open rangey feelings I grew up with – even in the woods and small towns I’ve chosen to live in for most of my life. I still feel liberated by a kind of alone-ness I treasure. I know the lay of the land, no matter where I travel in the US. It’s in my bones. So I hope you get to return home often, if that is your desire. Even if just to steep yourself in your familiar. Love to you, sweetie. ❤
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And then I just read this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BqkBy_ZB25S/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=11pxxpk9nrrr3
Hope you can link to it! Explains a bit … ❤️
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i’m touched by your sharing, dear Val!
feeling disconnected from roots is painful.
may you feel welcome
always
in that home
inside 🙂
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I have come to this wisdom too. Thank you Dave.💛
I also enjoyed seeing Thanksgiving through the eyes of a 9 year old boy, who really wanted to feel more family around him…. and loved being here despite terrifying dogs and different expectations. The dogs become best friends, and the expectations dissolved as we watched Guardians of the Galaxy and he laughed and laughed … I we both thought of the absurdity of it all. 💕
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Not the usual post from you, Val. Thank you for sharing your journey and all that entails. This is a difficult time for the heart. Hugs.
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Thank you Diana for your understanding and connection. 💛 Everything passes … and love and appreciation brings us back to Center. I’m about to get into the swing. Grateful for the found family and friends here … and expressing myself wholeheartedly 💕
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I’m thankful for your presence here, Val. 💗
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Thank you Betty 💛 I’m finding my way home right now, and it’s good to connect with fellow souls.
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Sometimes it means that it’s time for a change.
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Love .
Missing my family too
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Thank you Wiz 💕
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Nice post, Val. I especially like it because I can feel your heart put into it.
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