It has been a whopping 6 long years since I last wrote a blog post here. A lot has happened in the time passed between my last post till today.

The biggest change is that our little family has grown from 2 people and a dog to 3 people and a dog. The unexpected happened while still India, I got pregnant. I still remember the joy and happiness we felt upon reading the positive test like it was yesterday. Deepak and I are blessed with the cutest baby girl, but hey, we are a biased as parents.

We named her Chloë, which means blossoming. We also gave her an Indian name Chhaya which means Shadow Goddess. Like most Indian kids Chloë has a nickname which was given to her by a dear friend of mine, Laddoo. A Laddoo is an Indian sweet which is round like a ball and sweet just like Chloë when she was born.

I was not able to conceive and we just had started the adoption procedure. The same week that we submitted the paperwork I found out I was pregnant. One might call it faith. My pregnancy went smooth even though most of the pregnancy I was on medication to ensure that I could keep my food down. The only thing I could eat peacefully was mangoes.

Once we had our Laddoo everything changed. I got extremely homesick and missed the Netherlands even more then before. Before, there were also moments that I missed the Netherlands and my home, but it would pass always with a decent “bakje troost” or coffee and a cake. But not this time. I was missing walking in the forest, cycling, waking up to a cloudy sky and snow. The feeling that Laddoo would have to miss all this was breaking my heart.

When Deepak got the opportunity to get a job in Belgium we didn’t have to think twice. We packed up and moved to Belgium. However, the missing stays, the longing stays. Now the feeling is reversed and we miss India. We are missing India on a daily basis. The warmth, the food (yummy spicy food which warms your belly) and our friends which we have made over the years.