Well, we arrived in Holland two weeks ago. So much to share but life has a momentum of its own sometimes. The highlight since we returned is that I am officially registered with the city of Alkmaar as a resident. The amount of hoops we’ve had to go through with the government have been pretty intense. Thankfully, this feels like one of the last ones. I have my first doctor’s appointment coming up and it’s beginning to feel more real: Han and I are finally sharing a home!
But before I go too far in that direction, I want to share about the epic road trip we took down the Pacific Coast. Before I made my official move, I really wanted to spend time with the kids (and 3/4 of them are now living in California!). It was so special to all be together in Kauai and witnessing their lives in their new homes was overdue. It felt like an important trip, not only to spend time together but to return to the place I was born and have so much family history. And to share this all with Han made it even more meaningful.
We were blown away by all the beauty we experienced and at the same time, had to grapple with my layered feelings of loss. I don’t think there’s any way it could be otherwise. It’s not often that you are knowingly closing one chapter of your life to begin a new one. I can capture the beauty in photos but it’s hard to capture the complexity of feelings and it feels important to be real about that, too.
But the beauty and the connection we experienced along the way made such a difference!
We spent our first night in Newport, Oregon, with our dear family friend, Jeanne, and her sister, Barb. Jeannie was married to Mom’s college friend, Kae.
It was wonderful to spend time together and to share so many happy memories.
Our second night was spent amongst the California Redwoods. Such a sacred space!
And then we arrived in San Francisco.
Zack has living here almost a year, working at San Francisco International Airport as an air traffic controller. Aidan just moved in with him a few weeks before we arrived. He’s taking some time to switch direction after working for Tesla for the last three years. They’ve always been so close, it’s great to know they are together! They are living in the heart of the city and we stayed in a nearby Airbnb. There are pros and cons to living in the city and we saw both while we were there. It’s a great time in their lives to give it a try and San Francisco is remarkable for the amount of parks it has and how bicycle friendly it is.
We spent a great few days together before heading south on Highway 1 to Santa Barbara.
Here again, we were able to stay with beloved friends. The McCue’s have been in my life since my earliest memories. Sue was another friend from Mom’s college days, another “auntie” in my life.
I’ve traveled here to stay many times with Mom and we were missing her greatly.
At the same time, it was so comforting to be here.
Such a special spot in the world for me.
Our next stop was further down the coast to Long Beach,
the city where I was born and where Isabel is living with Mitch.
It sure felt good to see her so happy and settled.
She’s enrolled in Long Beach City College (at 17!), has just started a job as a covid tester for the school district and recently celebrated her first year anniversary with her boyfriend, Griffin, who we really like.
We loved hanging around Long Beach and even took a day out for Disneyland to really blow Han’s mind!
We ended up leaving my car with Isabel and flying back up to San Francisco to spend Aidan’s 25th birthday weekend together. As I said in the beginning, it was truly an epic trip!
Always feeling Mom’s presence along the way.
It felt extra special to fly out of San Francisco:
Zack has the coolest office; fun to see it from the plane.
Next stop: setting up life in Holland.
You truly never know where life will take you, do you?
There is so much I am feeling that I can’t put into words, so I will just end with:
...to be continued.
❤️
o 
