Missing Scotland: One Year Gone Today

Today marks a year since we left Scotland and moved to Northern California. I don’t think a year has ever flown by so quickly. I’m sure the pace at which Forest is growing and how busy he keeps us has something to do with that, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s been a year. But Timehop doesn’t lie and one year ago today we were boarding a trans-atlantic flight to San Francisco. 

We’ve really enjoyed our time in Cali so far and I think it was as easy as an international move with a newborn could be. But there are definitely things I miss about Scotland and I’ve added it to the long list of places I feel homesick for. Mainly I miss: 

1)The expat community. Aberdeen was the easiest place to make friends of all of our locations. The community there was so welcoming and helpful and Jonathan and I hit it off with new friends immediately. It was a much slower start meeting people in San Ramon, but after a year we are finally feeling like we have a tiny bit of a social life again. I’ve found some Oilfield mommas who I instantly connected with, but also have met some wonderful women through the Iron Horse Mothers Club and just out and about at the park/music class/etc. 

It was really scary leaving Aberdeen where we had such a cocoon of support around us and our baby, but the move to California wasn’t nearly as difficult as I feared. I know that if we went back to Aberdeen today, the social landscape would be totally different. 

This picture was taken at my baby shower in September 2013 and now only 5 of these ladies still live in Aberdeen. Yikes!

Still, one of my best girls, Jillian, is still there and I can’t believe it’s been over 365 days since I’ve seen her face. Waaaaaaaaaaah! 

I miss hiking groups and bachelor nights and mahjong and my book club girls too. When we left Aberdeen I was still sort of coming out of my ‘I just had a baby’ hibernation, so I kind of feel like the last 3-4 months in Aberdeen were a blur and I wish I could have had more presence of mind to really take it all in and hug everyone a bit tighter and maybe play one more game of mahjong. 

2) Tea. I miss going into any store and having a great selection of tea to choose from. I’m sure I could find a motherload in San Francisco but we just don’t make it into the city much and when we do, tracking down tea isn’t the top priority. I miss the assumption that every member of the population drinks tea and therefore you can find good quality stuff everywhere you go. 

3)The light. I was going to say the landscape but I find the East Bay to be actually pretty competitive with Scotland in terms of beauty. But what makes Scotland so unique is its northern location which just makes the sun and sky seem almost surreal in its beauty. 

I also miss the changing weather sometimes, just to watch the rain rolling in over the hills followed just as quickly by brilliant sunshine and more rainbows than you can count. It’s just magical. 

Seriously...

4)Forests. 

I know, I know, Northern Cali is dotted with redwood forests and yes they are pretty impressive but the ones we’ve been to just don’t compare with the tranquility found in the forests of in northeastern Scotland. While visiting Fort Bragg we were able to scope out some more isolated trails which were reminiscent of our hikes in Scotland, but for the most part we just don’t have that sort of easy access like we did in Aberdeen. 

Yesterday at Starbucks I struck up a conversation with the barista about Forest and she remarked that he had an unusual name and asked if there were any significance behind it. When I told her we named him mostly for the forests in Northeast Scotland she exclaimed ‘I studied in Aberdeen, and yes the forests there are so beautiful!’. 

5)The air. Ah the fresh air in Scotland. It’s so crisp and clean and invigorating. Imagine the most delicious, refreshing water you’ve ever had and that is what every breath you breathe feels like in Scotland. I swear it is more energizing then the best cuppa tea in the world.

Ok folks, later I will gush all about what we’ve grown to love here in Cali over the past year but that is quite a long list so I will save it for another day. Cheers!