It's actually ironic that I should go to the beach with my parents, considering the beach is one of the things that took me away from them. We have been in Oregon for 4 years. Oregon is home to us now (after many tears, and discussions about moving back to Minnesota). I believe it was the right decision and I honestly could not have said that 8 months ago. However, when my family leaves to go back to the midwest and B doesn't understand why they can't play just a bit longer, or when he goes upstairs to where they slept....the questions come back. Does a state filled with everything we appreciate equal home or is it our loved ones? I think maybe we have two homes...
So many words to get to the point. I am sad my mom and dad left (so is B). However, I love Oregon so much it hurts. The beach is my geographic soul mate. On this visit it was the textures that grabbed hold of me.
Many beach posts to come....Don't say I didn't warn you.....
53 comments:
I think home is a balance of both. I would really love to move to the mountains, but don't think the hubby could leave his family!!
Amazingly gorgeous photos :) Wish I was at the beach.
GORGEOUS photos. Wow. Reminds me I need to take advantage of the beautiful northern Cali beaches.
I wish I lived near the beach.
I've been having some wondering about where to live- whether to stay here (and if I do, where exactly once the area we are in and love get too expensive) or move somewhere else and why would we be moving there?
life is bittersweet sometimes. i guess we can't have everything all of the time, but sometimes we can and should make the most of it? your parents may have never enjoyed the beaches of oregon had you not moved there.
i'm so in love with your photos of the beach and can't wait to see more. there is something very andy goldsworthy about them. i love the second one and want to poke around in those holes.
welcome back, i was just thinking about you. you were missed. see, bittersweet.
I understand completely the feeling of being pulled in different directions and the ambivalence of where to belong. My mom, sisters, and their families are still living in Sweden. Virginia is where my new life is and there is no way to permanently combine the two. Instead we try to make the most out of every visit, here or there, filling them with good food, laughter, listening, and companionship. Thank you for the wonderful beach photos!!
BEAUTIFUL textures. There is some sort of hold one gets when living in middle-America. I've been a Midwest girl my entire life. Perhaps it is time to spread my wings. I think we go through different stages in our lives when it comes to defining home. I always felt sort of in-between during college- dorm room vs. bedroom at home. I spent a lot of time in the architecture studio during college, too. I found a lot of wonderful friends there and had to redefine my "home" after we all graduated. I think you have a nice balance between Minnesota and Oregon...
this an amazing series! Print it & frame frame frame!!!
we experience the same thing every time my folks come to visit...bittersweet...especially with kiddos.
your beach photos are magical. can't wait for the rest of the beach posts.
Another round of stunning images. So glad you had a great time. I'm heading to the beach in August. I hope its as nice as the beach you were on.
I guess I have sort of the opposite feeling about the beaches of Oregon, while beautiful they are, I miss the warm sun and sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast in Florida. I don't miss Florida, just the beach. and the shells. :)
but my oh my Traci, these pictures are amazing.
I really like those pictures, thanks for sharing them! :)
i too am feeling the heartache of having just left my family. i guess what that means is that we come from good seeds and that we have people that love us right. lucky girls. lucky girls.
love, lindsay
i was blessed to have oregon as my home for two years. currently, we are stuck in alabama. having lived away from my parents since i was 13, the pull of home never ends. having a child would only make it harder. of course it seems everything i do is in the intrest of getting back to oregon, the only place i can imagine calling home.
p.s. my parents live in texas, and my husbands mother lives in kenya.
Another beautifully painted picture of a place I have never been and would so badly like to visit.
I'm happy for your emotional connection... those are the things that make you feel so alive.
AMAZING photos! I know you miss your family....it must be tough. At least you have us ;)
I think this is my favorite post yet.
Great pictures Mr.s French.
I am all too familiar with that tug of war. There are no perfect answer, is there?
gorgeous. You make me miss Oregon:) Great photos - and hey, two wonderful and cozy homes filled with people you love are better than one! And one is pretty darn good.
These photos are amazing.
I am so, so with you on this one. I need to be on the coast. Period. My mom is in Connecticut (where I grew up) and I know Connecticut vs Massachusetts isn't Minnesota vs Oregon, but still...I would do anything in my power to get her and my stepfather to move up here. (And, we don't even have kids yet...I imagine that feeling will be multiplied times 10 when we do.)
That being said...I firmly believe you need to love where you live.
I have two homes too. It's hard, I know it, my little man is always asking why my Mum and Dad can't come and say hi.. It's a five hour drive (more when I am driving solo with my two little bunnies).. So I am happy to have two homes. I could never move back there, well at least for now, but my heart does ache.. I can't wait for more beach shots.
That sounds like it must be really hard. Most of us have two homes though...and I think it makes you appreciate both places even more. These photos are so pretty...looks like you had a quiet, peaceful time with your family:)
Stunning photographs! those questions are played over in my head as well- the ones you love verses the place you feel most at home and at peace with- we have the beauty to be able to bring the ones we love to the place we love and there is always tomorrow....
aw, man, i'm going to miss it here. don't know if you've noticed, but the Design District has gone into new hands, and i'm moving to new york. i'm heartbroken to leave oregon. i love it here so much. but the other coast calls. i just hope oregon will welcome me back someday.
til then, i'll just live vicariously through your blog :)
-rachel.
Ahh...Sweet Mrs. French. Welcome back! We missed you! I too feel that the ocean is my geographical soul-mate( so well put by you :) and yearn for the Florida beaches I grew up on. I adore your pictures and wish I could have number 5 and number 9 blown up on my wall. *sigh* perfectly captured, beautiful textures indeed and another heartwarming and gorgeous post by you!
xoxo
Melissa
I don't live any where near the ocean and grieve for that all of the time. I lived a short walk or drive from the beach for 28 years...i think I will always feel something is missing...your photos were greattly appreciated. I could feel the wet sand between my toes and taste the salty air on my tongue. Thank you!
these are such beautiful shots--your post made me a little teary--home can be many places I guess, it goes so deep into the soul.
Can't wait to see more---which beach is it? can i go when i'm there?
every time i read your blog i breathe a sigh. it's so relaxing with all the beautiful pics you take.
i heart the beach. but it's too cold to swim here in sf. eep.
I have always lived relatively close to my parents, who I have loved very much. However, I have never felt like I have had roots in any place that I have lived. I long to find the place on earth that "I love so much it hurts".
I suppose we all make trades and certain sacrifices, but it sounds to me like you have something very special in where you live. Keep embracing it, it looks and sounds like heaven to me.
beautiful, they look like abstract paintings. Wonderful textures.
oh, i so relate to what you are saying... i love living in the us where i have my life and my family now but an entire ocean separates me from my parents, my brothers and other loved ones... it's hard.
these are some beautiful pictures and i understand why you love oregon so much.
Stunning photos and also words. Home is what you make it. I left Kentucky for NY, the "Big Bad Apple" and never went back. Sure, I miss my folks and my family and wonder what it would be like -- there.
Here I am still in NY and loving the life here.
Makes me wonder where my children will roam. We all need to make our own path. Looks like you have found your path. May the force be with you!
I wouldn't be home if a beach wasn't nearby
Thanks for sharing...
:)
Sorry, I just had to leave another comment, you captured the pull to be in two places so well. My boyfriend and I were talking about whether or not to move, and more specifically, whether or not to move to Portland as that has been one of our top choices for a while.
But I would miss New York, especially Brooklyn, so much, that I really don't know what to do.
We are also geographically removed from our extended families (mine in Ohio, my husband's in France). And I am also so enamoured of the place where we live: the community, the beach, the proximity to NYC, I could go on for days. But at least there is no shortage of vacation spots with free room & board!
Oh, lady, do I feel this post! You know I do.
Your photos are gorgeous and are a huge reminder of why we moved here (Crater Lake was a nice reminder, too - you must go). Now if only my mother understood...
Sounds like a wonderful trip. I'm going through something similar now, and have been writing up a post about it. Living in a small vs. big city - what's worth it? Do you stay near the comforts and support of your family, or venture out (alone in my case) to a big, unknowning city? So many questions. Really great photos - the beach is such a lovely place.
I moved my parents right next door to me. It was a challenge to convince them, but it is so rewarding. Now that my father is facing cancer, it is a pure blessing to have him close.
Love the textures of the ocean and beach. So relaxing and full of visual warmth. Thanks for sharing Frenchy. You have a gift to make others feel happy.
The oh-so-eloquent Mrs. French. What lovely words and photos...some of your best. You are creating such magical memories for your sweet little B even if they're a bit bittersweet for you.
I've missed you and can't wait to see your other photos!
I love the way you have captured the light reflecting off the wet sand - the kind of bright beautiful light that makes you half close your eyes in real life! Hmmmmm... when will I ever see a beach again? Your photos wll keep me going for now! Thanks for sharing.
absolutely stunning. i've never been to the pacific NW beaches, but this conjures up the beach where i grew up, south of boston.
going to visit my parents (and the beach) this weekend, in fact. now i really can't wait.
oh mrs. french! i am so glad you had a lovely time at the beach. your photos are amazing. i too felt that little tug from home when i followed my heart west. now, i can't imagine life anywhere else.
*)
Your photographs are too lovely for words! I live very near the beach - about a 4-minute walk away. And I saw my second whale of the season yesterday morning - in the bay in front of our house. How lucky we are!
That has got to be hard! I'm afraid that someday, I will have to move away from my beloved seattle, and my family is already afraid of the seperation. I don't know how it will work out, but I can imagine the difficulty. Also, Beautiful photos!!
I get goosebumps just thinking about it... the two different "homes." I find myself forever drawn to the water. I loved your expression that the beach is your geographic soul mate. I understand and empathize, so much so it hurts!
For me, my "home" is slowly becoming Andrew. Where he is, I'm home. I think that happens when I see my sisters as well. When I'm with them, I feel the most "me." I hope that makes sense!
Sending you hugs and love as you assuage your "missing."
I know how you feel, we don't live close to my parents and it is very hard sometimes. I love all these pictures, I come from beside the sea and can imagine all of these textures
: )
Stunning shots! And I know all about the beach being your soul mate.
I am right there with you! I grew up by the beach, I now live in the Midwest...(opposite of you actually) and every Niko and I visit my parents, I come back and I feel so depressed (literally)...I feel I will never feel complete if I just lived in one place. I am here because here is where life calls me, but my mind and soul is there, by the beach at my little house where i grew up...Does it make sense?
I am so glad you and B got to hang out with your parents. How special of your little boy to see them...
We are leaving in one month to see my parents and I can't put it in words how happy that makes me....
Love the beach images.
Like many others, I relate. I have made a home here with my husband but my "blood" one is in France with my family. It is always good to know that you can always return, either direction.
Absolutely incredible shots. Oregon is like no other place :) I know exactly how you must have felt with the push and pull of new life and old. I'm glad to hear that everything has worked out. It always does, as they say.
What stunning, beautiful images.
I can only imagine being torn in two like that. I am lucky to live ten metres from the beach, with my parents a half hour drive up the coast. I don't think I could choose!
Bring on the beach posts!
I've never been to Oregon, but I think I must. Such beautiful photos.
I always dream about living in a different city - as I love to discover new places...but I know I would miss my family dreadfully. But, sometimes the new places become home and it is always wonderful to go and visit family. Sometimes it all works out.
Thank you for the thoughts, and the beautiful photos!
Ack, you're killing me with these beach posts. My husband and I feel the same way as you about beaches, and yet, we live in the middle of the country. My mom is here. It is a hard decision!
Oh Mrs French, your posts are supposed to make me happy not introspective. This is exactly why I left Portland the first time. I was trying to find some place that felt like home closer to my hometown. Why are the 2 places I call home so far apart? But I do love it here. And I love the Oregon coast.
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