In her book Rooted, Lyanda Lynn Haupt explains the difference between kith and kin:

“‘Kithship’ is intimacy with the landscape in which one dwells and is entangled...Where kin are relations of kind, kith is relationship based on knowledge of a place...its landmarks, its fragrance, the habits of its wildlings. Kithship enlivens kinship.”

That distinction resonates with me. Creating kinship -- relationships with people -- often feels connected to a specific place. Our neighbors who share our street; my son’s friends who share a school and park; family who at one time or another grew up together in a specific place. My kith in San Carlos were my backyard trees: fig and plum leaning over from our neighbors’ yard, orange that fruited even in drought, weeds and privets that threatened to choke them all out. Hummingbirds and squawking blue jays. Heavy sweetness from jasmine and citrus blossoms. The more than occasional smoke-stink sky.

I made some marmalade before we left, harvesting the oranges with the most saturated skin. I had this feeling that my temporary kith -- this fruit -- would connect me to my kin, in California and eventually in New York. I used Alison Roman’s recipe, and I probably didn’t get the final temperature quite right, because it came out a bit thick, but you can taste the sunshine all the same. I figured out water-bath canning (giving up on my existing pots and DIY racks made out of jar lids and asking my husband to pick me up some proper canning gear at the hardware store, which he did), wanting the jars to last until they found their intended recipients.

I went on jam walks, first in San Carlos, and then in Hastings, delivering jars to friends and staying for a chat. The walks before we left were sad but straightforward: I knew for whom they were intended. We hugged and cried. The walks after our move are tentative. It’s a process of me figuring out who could be our new kin here. It feels too soon to know. But I sense the kindness and welcoming of our neighbors, and maybe the gift of a far-off place will plant seeds of new growth.