Anticipatory nostalgia

‘Anticipatory nostalgia’—that sense of sadness we feel about having to leave a beautiful place while we’re still there or stop doing something wonderful before it actually ends. Journalist Hedwig Wiebes learns more about it.

There I was, at a deserted beach so vast that it seems endless, surrounded by rocky cliffs. As I descended 
the wooden stairs and looked around, I realized I was the only one there. Me and my two dogs, that is. Undoubtedly, this beach is jam-packed with colorful parasols and beach towels in the summer, and you’d have to squint to see the ocean through crowds of people slathered in suntan oil. But it was winter, and 
we had this Portuguese kingdom all to ourselves.

The dogs ran ahead in leaps and bounds as dogs 
do on beaches, and I looked at the happily meandering trail of paw prints that they left behind. ‘I am such a lucky person,’ I thought. I am currently leading a traveling life, living in a camper van, which I can combine well with my work as a writer. Thanks to this way of living, I end up in the most fabulous places at the most unexpected moments.

And then I thought: ‘I have to really enjoy this a little bit more than usual as we leave tomorrow’. I’d almost forgotten about that. In fact, we were leaving this area, with its gorgeous rugged beaches, altogether. Boom, my happy feeling evaporated, and gave way to a premature sense of loss for this place that I love so much. Feeling kind of sad, I walked on—preoccupied with the imminent departure.