GEZELLIG.

I first heard the word Gezellig while watching Ted Lasso. I learned that it’s a fairly untranslatable Dutch word meaning cozy or comfortable, pleasant, and relaxed. It’s more an idea than a description, I think.

And while Gezellig certainly describes my tiny little camper, especially at night, it also fits my drive west after I left DC. The weather was better and driving Route 50 through Arlington and Annandale and Fairfax and Chantilly was like slipping into my most comfortable pair of jeans. I grew up there and learned to drive and drink there. And to drink and drive- Gezellig.

So, yeah, it was pleasant. The places had changed, but they were still the same- it was Gezellig, right?

And then, at day’s end, when my drive took me to my little sister’s home in Purcellville for the night with her family- that was certainly Gezellig.

And then, while I was mapping out the next day’s drive into West Virginia, with everyone’s help and advice, we learned that the next night’s lows were going to be in the 40’s so it was decided that I would stay in my sister’s and brother-in-law’s vacation house in Davis WV so that I wouldn’t risk frostbite by camping- it was Gezellig all over the place.

And then, when I left the next day, as I watched my little sister’s home bathed in the soft morning light recede in my rear view mirrors- that too was Gezellig.

Gezellig. (pronounced ge-ZEL-lig)