Re-entry

Adjustments in Coming to America…

I write this post with mixed feelings. It is the end of our Swedish adventure, and it feels like writing it down will somehow make it more real. Whether I want to admit it or not, it’s over. We officially sold our apartment in Stockholm a couple of days ago, so the last tangible connection to Stockholm is gone.

For now… we will see how long Mrs. Cinnamon Buns can sit still.

Over the last several years, a few people have reached out to discuss the realities of moving overseas. Here’s the bullet: it’s hard. No matter how you do it, moving sucks. When you move back from overseas, you must wait several months for your goods to arrive. For us, it has been several months of temporary housing, rental furniture, and constant change and upheaval. Another chapter in the never-ending book, “Nothing worthwhile is ever easy!”

Our goods arrive after a 5400-mile journey.

A few random thoughts and updates:

The Cinnamon Sticks

Our kids are super resilient. We worry about them constantly, but they handled the transition with much more aplomb than the adults! They have their moments, no doubt, but they have taken the whole transition amazingly well!

The Cinnamon Sticks release the cats into our temporary housing!

Both girls went back to school. Our youngest went back to her old school, where she joined a few friends whom she had known four years ago. Our oldest started a totally new school mid-year! There were only a few difficult moments in the transition, a testament to the teachers and students who welcomed them. We are truly fortunate to have received the support that their schools have given us.

Ready for her new school.

Our New Home

We lucked out and rented a house in our preferred Los Altos, California, neighborhood. There is not usually very much inventory for rent in this area, but we were lucky to find a lovely ranch home (with a pool!). The former owner was a local legend. She lived in the house for decades, raised six children here, and, late in life, started her own business making biscotti! The local market still sells them. Hopefully, there is good karma for us here.

Suburban bliss

Yes, we have a pool. Talk about Wild Swimming!

We love the area where we live. We are a short walk or bike ride from the library and downtown Los Altos. The Cinnamon Sticks are overdosing on English books, and we enjoy living in a walkable neighborhood. A short bike ride away, there is even a local redwood grove with a nice little creek running through it—not something that we saw in Stockholm!

Our redwood grove.

Driving

We are back in the land of the automobile. We certainly miss walking everywhere, and I particularly miss walking the Sticks to school. Driving is less problematic than I thought. Bay Area traffic seems to have improved significantly since more companies have remote work policies. And a benefit of driving that I underappreciated during my city years is being able to go wherever and whenever you want. We don’t need to time our arrival at the bus stop, or deal with full buses, angry stroller Moms, or delayed transportation. Certainly, there is traffic from time to time that throws a wrench into your plans, but I’m really enjoying the ability to come and go as I please in the trusty minivan (yes, that’s right, the Swagger Wagon is back).

What We Miss About Stockholm

I don’t know who to attribute this quote to, but I’ve heard, “One of the abilities of a first-class mind is the ability to hold two contradictory thoughts in your head at one time… and not go crazy.” We deeply miss Sweden. To some extent, we wish we still lived there. At the same time, we love living in California. It feels like we are back home. It has taken us some time to internalize that both of these things can be true at the same time, and hopefully, we won’t go crazy. Here are a few of the things that we miss about our adopted homeland:

Friends and Family: We all made such good friends in Stockholm. I miss my walking group. I miss my brother.

Fika: What are friends without Fika, right? Grabbing a coffee is just not the same here. The whole process of meeting for a treat and drink is much more advanced in Sweden.

Rosendals Trädgård: We love this place. We have been dozens of times. The kids love it, and the adults love it. We’ve taken all of our visitors there.

Snow: We all feel robbed that we didn’t get a good snow winter before we left. The kids really miss playing in the snow. We miss walking through Humlegården and seeing the snow-covered trees. We all miss sledding!

Our Apartment: We spent months renovating it and only lived in it for two years! It was the nicest place we ever lived in, and judging by California real estate prices, the nicest place we will ever live in.

Swedish Strawberries: The hype is real. They are the best.

Things We Missed About the USA

Super Fast Amazon Delivery: This has been a godsend as we restock after moving. Most things arrive the next day, some the same day! And they are delivered right to our home, not some random pick-up point a mile away.

California Fruits and Vegetables: Food in Sweden is generally high quality, but you really can’t beat the fruits and veggies in California. It is truly a four-season growing region, and we enjoy all of the fresh produce. Plus, there are great farmers’ markets in every town in California. There is a wide variety of fresh food and local artisans. Our whole family loves it.

The Weather: The rumor is we get 300 days of sun per year (maybe we should change the blog name… hmmm). I think that’s legit:

Yes, I have reluctantly switched back to Fahrenheit.

American Toilets: Just… so much better. IYKYK. I’m not going to talk about it, so don’t ask.

We Have an Extra Bedroom

For all of our friends around the world, feel free to drop by any time. We have an extra bedroom and would happily repay the kindness you have shown us.

We are not sure what will happen to this newsletter. Let me know in the comments if you would still like to hear about the Buns. I’m sure we will occasionally do something newsworthy.

To be continued…