Returning to the Yukon: Finding Balance After Four Weeks in Germany

Returning to the Yukon: Finding Balance After Four Weeks in Germany

It’s been two weeks since we returned to the Yukon

After four deeply emotional weeks in Germany, the re-entry has been a mix of calm, clarity, and quiet ache.

I left Germany with a heart full of reconnection. I spent time with family I hadn’t hugged in over a year and hadn't seen since the family break up last year. I had long, open conversations. My son played endlessly — running through gardens, digging in sand, riding bikes with his uncles and cousins. We were held.

And I didn’t realize how much I needed that.

There was something about being in places that shaped me, with people who know parts of me that no one else does, that reminded me of who I am — not as a mother or an artist or a partner, but just as Sophie.

Now that I’m home, I’ve been gently landing back into my rhythms.
Back to morning coffees in the cabin.
Back to Ikrusa’s soft snoring at my feet.
Back to the steady hum of the studio, my hands in metal, my heart in my work.

That time away gave me strength I didn’t know I’d need.
And softness I didn’t know I was allowed to hold.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to belong to more than one place. To be split between deep roots and new soil. To grieve the leaving and still be grateful for the coming home.

I don’t have all the answers. But I know this:
Germany reminded me of where I come from.
The Yukon reminds me of who I’ve become.

And somewhere between the two, I’m building something beautiful.

With love,
Sophie