The Waiting Game: Navigating Homesickness and Uncertainty

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” - Rachel Carson

Daffodils in bloom at my cabin in Ferryville, Wisconsin - April 2021

It feels like just yesterday I posted here in February, and now March is already wrapping up. With April right around the corner, I thought I’d check in, even though I haven’t felt particularly motivated to write lately, and there’s not much to report. I’m still in the midst of the application process for a six-month work permit, and it's been four months since I submitted my application.

The waiting game continues.

If my application is approved, I’ll stay in Norway for at least six more months. If it’s rejected, I’ll be given a departure date, likely within 2-3 weeks of rejection. It could go either way.

I’m eager to move past this “limbo” phase and figure out what comes next. Lately, I’ve been experiencing the closest thing to homesickness I’ve felt since arriving in Norway. My tulips and daffodils are starting to push their way through the earth at my cabin, and things are opening up again back home. Friends are heading to restaurants and concerts, and I’m reminded of this time last year when I was preparing for my trip to Nashville.

I feel stuck, and lonely.

Last year in The Gulch - Nashville, Tennessee

But time will pass, and this phase will eventually end, as all things do. I’ll move forward—somewhere, somehow.

April, come she will.

Looking ahead, it’s possible I’ll find myself balancing life in the U.S. and Norway in some capacity, maybe with yearly visits to Norway. But right now, I don’t have the answers.

I’ve also been daydreaming about my cabin back home in western Wisconsin. I’m hoping to return this year to insulate it, install a wood-burning stove, and prepare it for winter and future rental opportunities. I bought the cabin in September 2020, and while I’m proud of the progress I’ve made, there’s still much to do. My vision is to create a country retreat centered around music, nature, and books—for both myself and others.

For now, I’ll continue pushing forward with my work permit application and take things one step at a time. I’m grateful I can remain in Norway while my application is processed, and I appreciate each day I get to wake up here. Most of my time lately has been spent in Hallingdal, one of the major valleys in eastern Norway. It’s a place I’ve been coming to since I first arrived in Norway in 2016, and I’m fortunate to have built some lasting connections here.

Above: Handmade gifts from home. <3

In recent weeks, I’ve been so grateful to receive letters and homemade gifts from family and friends back in the U.S. They’ve really lifted my spirits. I’ve also been leaning on music, as I often do. I’ve been tuning into my favorite Sirius XM hosts—Peter Asher’s From Me To You on the Beatles station, Sundays with Jeannie Seely on Willie’s Roadhouse, and the Big Steve Hour on the Grateful Dead station.

I’ve been listening to them since I signed up for Sirius XM during the pandemic, and their voices have become a steady source of comfort through these difficult times. It may sound odd, but they've truly become reliable friends to me during these months of uncertainty.

Marla

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