Sorry I haven’t been around much! I’ve been away from my desk lately, partly because we spent a lot of last month in the air and on the road, visiting friends and family in America.

It was quite a trip, not least because it began exactly one year (to the day) since we’d moved to the UK.

Logan Airport isn’t exactly glamorous, but when we touched ground and saw the triple-deckers and sea grass across the tarmac, I got all weepy. A year is a long time, I guess. At least it is when you’re missing the people you love best.

We didn’t get to see everyone we’d hoped to — not by a long shot — but we packed in as many as we could. It was heaven to be with them, to see how we’ve all grown (especially the kids), to let the conversation zing between past and present, quotidian and sublime, in the way it does with good friends.

After all that, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming back to the UK.

But funnily enough, when I came in the door what I felt was: We’re home. The light, the air, the sounds, the smells… they all felt familiar and welcoming and right. And I was surprised, over the next days, by how many of our new friends had missed us, and how warmly we were greeted, and how good it was to catch up with all the doings here.

I know I’ll still have times when I feel torn between two countries, still have minutes and hours and days when homesickness swamps me. But I’m starting to believe I might be able to bloom where I’m planted.

The Angelique tulips were in bloom on the day we came home…

…and the footpaths were awash with cow parsley