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Home is where you park it

Cecilie Conrad·Jan 17, 2021

We have created a life we don’t need a vacation from.

We have been a nomad family for two and a half years. It is not an eternity, but it is a long time. The kids have grown, we have all learned. The question of home has been a big one.

It was scary, to begin with, to take our family life on the road. How would it work? Would we feel safe, happy, focused? Would the children thrive? Would we become rootless and confused?

Of course, we thought about it? Basically, we decided, that it would become wonderful and that it would be worth it whenever it was not wonderful. We also decided to buy a bus, to take our lives out in the world but bringing our home with us. Like snails. So, we would cook in the same kitchen, sleep in the same beds, use the same bathroom, and carry lego and books and craft projects, and all in the new life.

And the slogan became the truth: Home is where you park it. We do feel it, whenever we park and stay for a few days, we feel at home.

But there is more to the story: Home is where we park it, not because of the beds and the moving tiny house. As you might know, the tiny house/bus did not move a lot. We bought the green van in the photo to speed up our journeys, and learned, our travels are ever-changing. We can not keep doing the same thing: Sometimes we live in the bus, sometimes in the van, sometimes with friends, sometimes in rentals, sometimes in hotels.

It is of no great matter. Home is where we park because we took the feeling of home into other elements than location.

Our home is where we cook our meals, where we read our cartoons in the morning, and share tea in the afternoons. Home is where we decide to live our life for a while. Home is home because we are together. We move with intuition and love and end up in amazing places. They all become home for a while because we make sure to not feel on the move, temporary, insecure. Instead, we breathe in, breathe out, cook broccoli, walk the dog, comb our hair, read our books, do our yoga, have conversations, enjoy the sunset.

With this, a lot of places can be home.

May the sun shine on you.

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Cecilie Conrad

Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

Am I the right person to help you? You can book a free discovery call, and we'll talk and figure it out.

Listen to my podcasts

I share my knowledge and curiosity about family life and learning in my two podcasts.

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