The roots of who you are

On the magic of community.

Hello there! And welcome to Dandelion Seeds, an illustrated newsletter that is hand-painted and hand-lettered, from my desk to yours.

This time last week, Jose, Elena, and I were on a ferry, crossing a narrow sea in northern Norway known as the Vestfjorden, making our way back to the Lofoten Islands — for the first time since Jose and I met there seven years ago.

Returning to Lofoten, especially with Elena, has had me feeling all the feels — big, surreal feelings that I know I’ll be processing for a while to come, and I have no doubt I’ll explore an essay about it here on Dandelion Seeds soon. 

Elena’s first glimpse of Lofoten 💙

But before I do — and before we return to The Sounds of Home and your beautiful stories next week — there’s something else I want to say first:

Thank you. 

Last week, I shared about our recent move from Uruguay to Belgium, and so many of you took the time to write and wish us well, and to share your own perspectives on home and roots and finding our place in the world. I’ve always believed in the magic of community, but your comments took my belief to a whole new level. 

And so today, as we begin making our way home from Lofoten, I simply wanted to honor the wisdom and thoughts you shared. I’ve hand-lettered four of your comments from last week — a few of the lines that spoke to me the moment I read them, and have stayed with me since — and I hope they’ll speak to you, too.

With gratitude,
Candace

A fitting sight on our first morning walk on Lofoten.