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Three Months as an Orphan, an Ice House and a Search for ‘Home’

Three Months as an Orphan, an Ice House and a Search for ‘Home’

Reflections on Rockcliffe beach, Scotland

In January, I came home to a broken boiler.

After celebrating the New Year in Cuba, I’d spent two straight days flying from Havana to Toronto to London – and I was exhausted. Moreover, I was more than a little worried about how it would feel to be at home at the beginning of this new year.

The first year I’m facing without either of my parents alive.

Flora's family in Normandy beach, 1992

It’s been three months since my dad passed away, and in that time I’ve had a rude awakening into what my new life looks like. Suddenly I’m the sole person responsible for the house I grew up in: I’m responsible for every physical object which represents the life I once shared with my mum and dad. It’s a huge realisation, and it’s utterly terrifying.

In a purely practical sense, I’ve also been forced into adulthood in the most mundane of ways – something which became rudely evident when the boiler began to flash an ominous red light on December 26th.

“At least it was working on Christmas Day!” my boyfriend said brightly, while I immediately panicked and tried to find a repairman. Luckily my dad, ever the pragmatist, had already paid for a year of insurance cover for his three year old boiler, and the plumber who eventually arrived to check it out told me that the replacement part would be ready in three or four days.

Great news, right?

Except a fortnight later, we got back from Cuba and walked into a freezing house in equally freezing winter temperatures, and so a boiler nightmare began.

The prospect of a month without heating

Over the next few weeks, I had five different boiler appointments which were booked then cancelled at the last minute by the repair company – and my confidence was repeatedly chipped away each time. My vague plan for the first months of 2018 had initially been to slowly and calmly begin ‘Working On The House’: namely, sorting through drawers and cupboards, bagging up unwanted clothes for the charity shop, re-organising the layouts of furniture and knick-knacks, and generally navigating how to find comfort in a space which is suddenly unfamiliar.

Instead, thanks to a mysteriously hard-to-obtain replacement boiler part (and a company who didn’t seem too bothered about it), my house was destined to be bone-cold and virtually uninhabitable for four straight weeks.

So I did the only thing I could. I wrapped myself in every layer of thermal clothing I owned, clambered into bed beneath three thick duvets, and I hid.

Empty rooms at Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfries

What makes a place ‘home’?

In May last year, before we knew my dad was going to die, I’d planned to move to Scotland and live with my boyfriend. Jamie’s been based in Glasgow for the last six years, and I was excited to explore a country I’d always adored but hadn’t spent much time in.

Except that after Dad’s death, the idea of relocating suddenly became much more overwhelming. His house had always represented long-term permanence and security, but now that’s been shaken. Suddenly London, and my life within it, feels acutely vulnerable.

And yet, mere months before, I’d been so keen to leave London! I’d wanted to break out of the city-wide suffocation and breathe properly in the open countryside. I’d wanted to have a fresh start in Scotland. I’d felt ready.

So a few weeks after my dad’s funeral in mid November, Jamie and I drove northwards: up through snow-laden fields and into the Scottish countryside. During a fortnight we visited a dozen properties, some for rent and others for sale, in the hope that we’d chance upon a place we might want to live.

A seaside house in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

We met most of the owners of these properties, and I was fascinated to see how all these people had decorated their homes to reflect their lives. There was the man with a thimble collection whose children had all emigrated to Australia and who’d hung his garage with Australian flags; the woman who worked for years with a camel rescue centre in Syria and filled her house with green palm fronds; the house with the bright orange conservatory, a gaggle of inquisitive geese, and a cat tunnel dug into the wall.

These families were relocating because of many reasons: illness, old age, an increasing need to be closer to loved ones. Some seemed more resigned than others to be moving on – and I understand why, because leaving a familiar way of life behind you can be terrifying.

Inside a barn house in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

But while we were far away from London, I began to have uneasy nightmares about my dad’s house. Each night my mind filled with scenes of break-ins, spontaneous fires, unlocked doors and a confusion of visitors arriving for unexpected house parties.

When I eventually came back to London in December, it was with a bitter sense of relief. I wanted to embrace a new life in Scotland – but I needed to be in my family’s house. After so many years of wanting to keep moving, all I want to do now is stay very still in a place of comfort, and wait for this grief to wash over me.

Life inside an ice house, and a sense of reclamation

Of course, a broken boiler made the grief process a lot more stressful.

Jamie’s job called him quickly back to Scotland, so for four weeks straight, I was suddenly isolated by myself in a strange nothing-space. I spent all my time in a living room stronghold of 10’C, warmed only by two electric space heaters and a hastily constructed fire; my body dressed in leggings and tracksuit bottoms, thick HeatHolder socks, thermal long sleeved tops, a woollen black turtleneck once belonging to my mum, and an Ebay-purchased heavy knit jumper.

Under my multiple duvets, watching my breath mist above my head, I thought long and hard about what this house signifies.

It’s a safe space for me to actively feel my grief at losing both my parents, sure: but it’s also filled to the brim with them. Every picture I didn’t choose to frame or hang on the wall is a reminder of them. Every colour of carpet, every curtain pattern, every lampshade, every decoration is proof that I’m living around their memories.

For better or worse, this house is mine now – and these reminders, which have the ability to be both positive and negative, aren’t going anywhere until I decide they should. And I get the strong sense that part of my healing process is to reclaim this house so it feels like it belongs to me.

So I began to think about lampshades, wall murals, framing my own pieces of art I’ve bought around the world. Changing the curtains. Buying a good mattress for the first time in my life.

And with this thinking came a sense of proactivity. After what felt like months of passive hibernation beneath the covers, I began to actively preserve myself against the cold.

Flora in wintery Scotland

I used towels from my dad’s scarily organised airing cupboard to cover the gaps at the bottom of each door in the house. I spent an evening clumsily sewing up an old sweatshirt of my mum’s, filling it with rice to make a draught excluder.

Copying what my dad did years ago with the draughty front door, I hammered pins into the doorframe of the living room and hung a scratchy mohair blanket to stop any cold air from getting in. My fire-laying and lighting skills improved with every evening’s attempt.

By the time the boiler was finally fixed by a fantastic engineer named Errol, I’d worked out the best methods to preserve what little warmth there was in my house. I’d also begun to understand the myriad of triggers for my grief.  

As Errol stood on his ladder and peered inside the boiler, we talked about what it’s like to lose our parents. Errol’s mum had passed away the year before, and he knew exactly what was racing through my mind.

“You can’t get on with grieving your dad properly,” he said. “Not while you’re freezing by yourself in this house! You’ve really been through the wringer, haven’t you?”

Errol understood why this situation was so upsetting, and why my house felt so strange.

“You need to feel at home here,” he said, waving a screwdriver in his vehemence. “This needs to be your place. It’s your home now – even though you’ve lost your mum and dad.”

Flora's family photos on a shelf

This house has always been my home

What does ‘home’ mean to you? Mine may no longer have my family in it – not physical people, at least. But there’s still heating and hot water (occasionally!), and there are all our familiar possessions. Belongings.

This is a place I belong to.

Regardless, sometimes this belonging feels a bit like being under house arrest. I’ve begun to have too many anxieties about a building I wasn’t really supposed to be living in right now. In the same way that I’m fascinated by people’s life stories illustrated in their houses, I’m scared of establishing my own story right here. I’m nervous of creating my own life inside a house which used to hold three people’s lives, intertwined around each other.

But then I remember there are almost thirty years of memories with my dad in these six rooms. Twenty of those years still involved my mum.

And without sounding trite, my parents didn’t raise me to crumble.

They raised me to be strong.

This time last year I could never have imagined where I’d be right now. But it happened. My dad died, and so my world shifted. Now, I’m spending a quiet Christmas Eve in my family house, without any surviving members of my family apart from me. And yet? That shifted world I inhabit is still beautiful. Different, yes – but undeniably beautiful. The dusk sky still shines with ethereal colours dancing through the clouds; traces of seawater still reflect smudges of fading light along the dappled sands, and it’s utterly mesmerising. I’ve been reflecting so much the past few weeks. I know my life has changed forever, but it’s still mine. I’ve spent the last decade since my mum’s death living fiercely: I’ve been experiencing everything I can of this beautiful world, and I won’t let that change. So merry Christmas, folks. The tide might be out in southwest Scotland, but soon it’ll come back to life again. And so will I ❤️

A post shared by Flora The Explorer (@florabaker) on

There’s no doubt that the grief process is going to be hard. I’ve already done it once before, and I’m not looking forward to it. But just like last time, I know that grief at its highest intensity doesn’t last forever. I can get through it, and with some self-care I know I will.

For now, I’ll be living mainly in London, visiting Scotland as often as I feel able, and spending time on short-term pursuits of happiness around the world. London is where my friends and community and familiarity are, whereas Scotland holds the promise of new horizons: a new life, when I’m ready for it.

So. I’ll reclaim this house to be my home. I’ll nurse my grief and regain my strength. I’ll find out what it means to be an adult orphan, and I’ll come to terms with it.

I’m battered, bruised and so very vulnerable – but I’m still here. And that’s a start.

A female statue rising from the undergrowth

Have you ever felt unsettled about your own home? Does moving house always contain emotional baggage for you? What does ‘home’ mean to you? 

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13 Comments

  • Reply
    frederick
    February 13, 2018 at 6:03 pm

    Dear Flora thank you for your blog and photos you are in my thoughts and prayers when my Dad and my Mum died I had to leave my birth home as it was rented my life just when from bad to worse and to tell the truth I have never really got over it .I just make the best I can of my life. I do wish you every good wish for your future you are a special wonderful person.Regards Frederick

    • Reply
      Flora
      May 22, 2018 at 3:11 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind words Frederick 🙂 I’m so sorry losing both your parents had such an effect on your life, but I hope you’re doing alright now. All the best xx

  • Reply
    Gerry
    February 13, 2018 at 8:18 pm

    Dearest Flora, Revel in the fact that you HAD them for all those years. After my papa passed we were cut off from my mother by sibling caregivers who insisted on supervised appointments when visiting, monitored phone calls, and cut off contact with her grandkids. On the advice of wizened women, I have made my own family and made a home that is welcoming and comforting. My wish for you is a good casserole of chicken pot pie, plenty of hot chocolate whenever you get the urge, snugly blankets and perhaps a cat or kitten. Love from Oregon where the lettuce is up!

  • Reply
    Caroline Eubanks
    February 14, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    What a beautiful piece of writing. And your hair has gotten so long! Sending you love as you make this place your “new normal” home. <3

    • Reply
      Flora
      May 22, 2018 at 3:13 pm

      Thanks lovely! And yep, I forget that my hair must’ve been so much shorter when I last saw you! We’ll have to rectify that sooner rather than later 😀 xx

    • Reply
      Michele
      November 11, 2020 at 1:57 am

      Dear Flora,
      I lost both of my parents in 2019…30 days apart from each other. Sometimes I feel so very lost because I walked this journey completely and utterly alone. Then there are times when I feel strong and manageable. This grief comes in waves, but your website thoroughly brought me some peace today.

  • Reply
    Mimi
    February 16, 2018 at 7:59 am

    Beautiful and brave xxxx

    • Reply
      Flora
      May 22, 2018 at 3:12 pm

      Thanks darling one <3

  • Reply
    elephantaljustice
    February 16, 2018 at 1:01 pm

    Dear Flora, I’ve been reading and loving your website for years. You have a gift with words and your photos are always beautiful. Your posts move and inspire me every time, even more so in light of the past months and your brave and honest writing about them. Definitely self care all the way at this difficult time. I look forward to reading more from you – when you’re ready.

    • Reply
      Flora
      May 22, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      Thank you so much for saying such beautiful things! I feel very humbled to be a source of inspiration to anyone who finds meaning in what I write 🙂

  • Reply
    Jessi (@2feet1world)
    March 4, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    Kia kaha Flora… I can’t begin to imagine how tricky this is to navigate, but it sounds like you are starting in the right place. Thank you, as always, for sharing your beautiful words.

    • Reply
      Flora
      May 22, 2018 at 6:26 pm

      Thanks so much Jessi 🙂

  • Reply
    Flora
    August 10, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    We shared the same name. I lost my mother over 7 months ago. Although I am almost 40, it is not easy. I had a hard time coping. My friends around me are all lucky enough to have their both parents around. I guess they can never relate to my pain until they experience themselves. Needless to say, some friends distance themselves after I had a displayed a strong sense of grief — talking about insomnia, about my mother, about anxiety. Now I understand that friends may not be there at critical times even though they promised long time ago. I have to understand that people get on with their own life.

    I am afraid to go to sleep at night and hardly got up for work in the morning. I lack motivation. To find that you had to go through at such a young age and still managed this well, I feel ashamed. I tried to get the help all I need. At the end, it is up to me whether I can walk through this journey. Then the stupid COVID-19 issue has come at this worse time. I am sure if my mom was around, I would not have felt this lonely, anxious,

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