I left my home in Scotland 36 years ago and have to admit, part of my heart is still there. You would think that making a new home and raising a family might change your perspective about home.
One aspect of this was always a desire to take my best friends to my old home and homeland to show them the places I love, meet the people I love and to experience the warmth of the Scottish people I was raised with not to mention show off some of its beauty.
Happily, I have been able to do this a few times with close friends. Each time brought great satisfaction as each of them fell in love with my homeland and became familiar with my family and friends. I felt such joy and excitement when they each expressed their own love of the places we visited and pure delight in sharing their experiences.
The last trip with a friend was in 2017 with Lisa, whom I’ve known for over 30 years. At that time, Dad was fairly active so we did lots of sightseeing to visit and show off our favorite places – he enjoyed doing this equally as much as me, or, perhaps, even more. Dad was always a gracious host and fun tour-guide and held some knowledge of the local history and folklore, regaling us with some fun and interesting tidbits.
That Christmas, Lisa presented me with a most thoughtful and touching gift. A book of photos of our trip and travels with my Dad. She had taken dozens of photos illustrating everything from our home and neighborhood to the town and each of the stops on our day trips. There was even a page of what had become a fun theme of that trip, our “selfie of the day” (makes me giggle even to write that). Of course, there were all the tearooms we stopped at to sample their home baking and warming pots of tea.
Although, at the time, I was deeply touched by Lisa’s thoughtfulness, I had no inkling then of how important that book would be for me just two-and-a-half years later when Dad’s house would belong to someone else with his death following soon after. One of those “Wee Acts of Providence”.
Every now and then, I open that book and peruse the pages, hovering a bit longer over a different page each time remembering the moments captured in the photos on the page and often recalling the memories and thoughts of my life back home in Scotland tucked behind those photos.
What item in your home is a special treasure for your heart and spirit?
Peace & Blessings,
Linda