Another unexpected country on our horizon.
Until recently, it was just a name on a map… now we know it’s real. And beautiful.
In a few short weeks, my husband, the father of our three children, will begin a new chapter in a country we’ve visited only once. A short two-day trip for his job interview, during which we did our best to catch the rhythm of a place that is still unfamiliar. Soon, it will become home to him — and, if all goes well, eventually to the rest of us: our two teenagers, our eight-year-old, and me.
Meanwhile, I spend weekdays across another border, living with our youngest during the school week. The older two remain in our family home with their father — at least until he moves. Weekends and school holidays are spent in motion, crossing distances to be together again.
If you’ve read earlier entries, you’ll know that relocation has been a recurring companion in our lives. For me, this is another turn in my winding path. For him, it’s the second time. Familiar, yes, but still full of unknowns.
The next few entries will trace our journeys — what it means to relocate, or to be displaced, by choice or by circumstance — and how I hope to meet it with a blend of experience, instinct, and careful presence. In between new destinations, there is this strange, brave, liminal space that is both a logistical puzzle and an emotional landscape. Perhaps the most tender part is learning how to hold space for one another through its many tides.
Our compass isn’t just geographic — it’s grounded in soothing rituals that keep health, strength, and heart where they belong. This is how we stay whole, even when we’re one, two, or three borders apart.
As this new chapter begins, I’ll keep writing the pages of the Lantern Diary — holding the lived moments, the questions, and the quiet courage.
And in the background, The Library is beginning to open — a space for insights, studies, helpful tools, and tiny anchors to help us navigate change with care.
For now, thank you for walking with me. With each step, the path unfolds.
Until then,
Anna, the Lantern Keeper
Lantern Notes 