This word popped up on my Pinterest feed one evening and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was a word that I  had subconsciously been looking for. I have no idea how to pronounce it, but it is a word that sums up how we feel about where we are at the moment.

It’s a Welsh word to describe a habitat where someone feels they ought to live – where nature around you feels right and welcoming.

That’s exactly how we feel about North Wales. It’s where we feel we ought to live. It feels like our forever home.

Both Graham and I were born in Birmingham (well, Solihull if you want to be pedantic) and have lived there our entire lives. Our parents and most of our siblings live there, and we have never lived further than five miles away from our parents and our childhood homes. We both had happy childhoods in Birmingham, and it’s where we met, started and completed our family, but we have both realised that it never really felt like home. Wales feels like home.

It’s a place where we can relax. It’s a place that excites and inspires us. It’s a place where we have learned to enjoy life and one another and not just go through the motions. It’s a place where the kids have flourished more than we could ever have dreamed, even after just three months. It’s a place where we feel truly happy and safe.

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery; air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’” – Sylvia Plath, from The Bell Jar