Some people may think that living in Europe means experiencing endless wonderment. They picture walking out the front door every morning, glancing around, and smiling at the newness of everything. It can, and it does, in the beginning, but then, like everything in life, we adjust, and the newness becomes routine. The novelty becomes the ordinary.

This realization smacked me in the face recently when Serhii and I walked out the front door on our way to run errands, and I looked over at the striking view to the north: Nordåsvannet. This ocean inlet mimics a giant lake that leads into the valley that culminates in the center of Bergen. The north and south are flanked by mountains that boast some of my favorite hikes. It is truly an idyllic Nordic scene. But my internal response to this was a sigh, followed by, I am sick of Norway. Instantly, I recognized the absurdity of my response and actually laughed as Serhii finished locking up the front door.

Of course, it is not that I am sick of Norway. Just like it was not that I was sick of Colorado. Or Oregon. Or Albania. No, instead, I am sick of how I feel in Norway. When novelty and extraordinary become ordinary and regular life takes over with the pitfalls of our minds and habits and the great work required to pull ourselves up and out and onto something better and more than the rut we may find ourselves in becomes the norm again, it is all too easy to feel that if we just were somewhere else, it would be better. And it would, for a time, but eventually, we would catch up to ourselves and find ourselves once again looking at beautiful views and feeling tired.

But there is one thing that never fails to center me in Norway with a spark of joy and overwhelming fondness. When I go to bed to cold rain, and I wake up to a clear sky the next morning, I nearly run to the window to see if my favorite gift from nature has been granted. And when I see the delicately snow-dipped mountain tops with the perfect demarcation line from the rain, it fills me with every positive emotion I can imagine and a huge smile breaks out on my face and then, I find that I am truly present and taking nothing for granted.