Sadness is a Pearl

On finding joy in the most unlikely of places.

I was going to write something rather miserable about January being the most dreadful month on my calendar, as it marks the anniversary of my beloved grandmother's death. But halfway through jotting notes in my Moleskine (yes, I still have to scribble my ideas on paper before committing them to the screen), my thoughts turned from sadness to joy.

You have a fellow Substacker (is that what we call ourselves here?!)

Denean

to thank for this piece's U-turn. When not writing beautifully about the relationship between people and the built environment on Between Buildings, Denean hosts The Place That You Call Home, a warm and joyful podcast that delves into the concept of ‘home’ and what it means to each guest. 

TPYCH is the kind of podcast that makes you think, “Damn, I wish I’d thought of that!” when you listen to it, so I was delighted when Denean invited me to come on and talk about my ‘home’… which brings us to the happier tone of this VeloMail.

The place I used to call ‘Home’ - I took this picture in 2008 when I was in Archway, en route to a Flickr meet-up at Highgate Cemetary. The last time I was this close to Mum’s place was 1998.

You can listen to the full joyful episode, ‘Roots and Revival’, by clicking the embedded link above.

For the longest time—26 years, to be precise—I dreaded the grief and other unpleasant emotions that would resurface with the arrival of January. I’d always reflect on how Mum¹ passed away just shy of her 70th birthday, and the fact that we held her funeral on that day always haunted me.