Being back in Poland means spending time with family I haven’t seen in a while and remembering the good old times from when I was a carefree child. When I left to the U.S. with my parents and sister, I realized how wonderful it was to sit by the big table with lots of family members and celebrate someone’s birthday, nameday, anniversaries. The house was then full of laughter, loud music, heated discussions and the kitchen was busy with aunts preparing food and baking delicious goods. Obviously, the party was never short of vodka, because which Polish household would run out of it? In the U.S. we had no one. The closest family was in Canada, where we would spend Christmas once in a blue moon. All those memories come back especially when I spend time with my cousins, aunts, grandparents and close friends here, in my hometown. A few days ago, my two cousins and I finally reunited in this squad and we decided to recreate a photo from 25 years ago when we were happy, silly kids. It was a lot of fun and it felt great to be able to talk and laugh like we did before. How cool is it?!
I spent 2/3 of my life in Poland and 1/3 in the U.S. My biggest struggle after living abroad for such a long time is…where is my home? My immediate family lives in the States but we have a house in Poland that my parents build over the past few years. Although I never lived in it, it feels like home. It’s an oasis. It’s a place where I reset, recharge and forget about everything. There is nothing better right now than waking up in the morning and eating handpicked raspberries from the garden and drinking coffee on a terrace. Nothing better than lying in a hammock under the shade of trees on a sunny day. And nothing better than watching falling stars on a beautiful night on a clear, non polluted sky.
Wayfarer & Luggage 