The earth moves around the sun and time continues to flow past. Yesterday felt like a significant milestone for us as we packed up and left our little Husøy home.
Husøy was a benchmark for us, our first real resting place. It was the first place where we slowed down to transition from traveling to life at “home”. It is where we got caught up, got bored, spent hours picking blueberries and watched the tide come in. After about two weeks there, we were ready to see something else and explore someplace new. But something happened between weeks three and four. We stopped searching and deeply settled in, becoming more content with the quiet rhythms of the town. In this quiet, we hardly noticed as the days passed by and suddenly it was time to leave again.
When we chose Husøy, a town of 150 people, we had hoped that the girls would make friends. We thought it would be small enough to get to know the community. However, we didn't take into account the Norwegian "space bubble" (as we called it) where it is customary for Norwegians to mainly interact through structured events. On our final night there, the bubble finally burst. The girls started to really play with the other kids on the island who had been watching us for the whole month. Five hours later they were bursting at the seams and happily recounting stories of their time with the kids of Husøy. They shared their favorite foods, compared differences between the US and Norway, and played games while laughing and running through the town together. When I tucked Little One in bed, she must have said "it was so much fun" 50 times before she finally settled down to go to sleep. Hopefully, they will put these lovely stories into writing, because they reflect what we had hoped the girls would get out of our time there all along. Our last day brought new friends, a new running record on our little 9% grade hill outside of town and a return of the glorious sun. But alas, the calendar had us moving on, and it was time to say goodbye. As we drove away, I knew I would always carry with me a piece of Husøy. I will remember it not only for its quiet, comfortable, simple routine but also for the beautiful hidden treasures that only slowly reveal themselves with time and mindful patience.
On my way down from my final run up the "hill", the clouds broke and the rainbow appeared, a fitting end to our magical time.