On dreams

Four years ago around this time of year I was standing in the backyard of a friend, crying my eyes out because it was just so beautiful. She was living the country life I wanted to have for myself – house on the countryside, growing her own veggies, a pantry stuffed with dried herbs, a fireplace, and nature all around.

Peter and I were living in an apartment in Gothenburg at that time, not one of the worst areas, but not one of the nicest ones, either. I had been working as a personal assistant for almost two years, and although it could have been worse, it could definitely have been better.

I was crying that day because I knew I wanted this so badly – but I just could not see it happening. I couldn’t see how we’d get there. Peter’s health was getting worse, so in a way I knew we’d have to move to somewhere with less electro smog. Still, there was not a fiber in my body that believed we would get there.

Two months later we found our house. August 23 2013 we bought that house. We got a loan, even though we were both unemployed at that time. We moved in on my birthday, September 1. Two months later I got a job.

It’s only been two months (that seems to be a significant time frame) since I moved out of that house, that dream. I am still grateful for the life I got to live there. It was not easy in many ways, and there were disappointments, hopes that were not fulfilled. But there were oh so many lovely things about it, too. I think appreciated a lot of them at the time, and I definitely do now.

The house itself had so much charm.

I spent the last few weeks on the couch in front of the fire place  soaking in the warmth, knowing that this was really special.

I had a favorite spot in the woods, up on the mountains, with a breathtaking view. I don’t remember the last time I was there, because it’s not accessible during the winter (and before that I didn’t know I was going to be leaving so soon).

There was a small lake nearby, and a bigger lake, with a sandy beach that was about 30 minutes away by bike. I loved both.

In the summer we would eat our dinners by the barn that was rotting away on the inside but still a beauty on the outside.

I gathered Meadow’s Sweet and made syrup from it.

I thought two apple trees wasn’t all that much but even during the „bad“ season, there were more apples than I could take care of.

I tried to approach the whole growing our own veggies thing the same way I started on our balcony in Gothenburg with two tomato plants: if I get two tomatoes, I’ll be happy. If anything comes out of this, I’ll be happy.

I’m not going to lie: I was a lot less enthusiastic about the gardening part than I’d hoped I’d be. Then again, I have a record of having expectations that are too high. That is also something I learned: you get a new chance every year. Things are constantly changing but there is also a cycle that is comforting.

And yes, we did get the hang of it a little more each year. The first year we had  moldy fire wood and a broke fire place – and we didn’t even know it.

The second year we had a nice fire place and good wood. Also, we added a second green house, and more space to the vegetable patch.

We’ve had wonderful Midsummer celebrations, and last year our wedding. We’ve had Christmases with snow and real Christmas trees from the woods. We’ve had more friends visit us than we had at our apartment in Gothenburg.

Like I said: it was a dream. I have been having other dreams since last fall. At first I had visions of them, then I was in a transitioning period where I had left the old dream but the new hadn’t really arrived yet. And suddenly I found myself in a similar situation like I was those four years ago. Not crying this time but doubting that the trip around the world that I had been thinking about would come about. I just couldn’t see it anymore. I was even considering moving to Frankfurt and trying to start a business (I was having some pretty good ideas, too). That was two weeks ago. Then a friend came to visit, and everything came into focus again. I am booking my tickets on Monday.