Where is Home?

Where is home? What do you consider home? Is it where you currently live?  For some reason these questions keep coming up for me lately, maybe it's because I'm emotional with having two new babies, or maybe it's that my oldest "baby" is headed to kindergarten next fall. Whatever it is I have done a lot of thinking about "home" lately, and for me, it will always be a combination of places.

 

I moved from Bloomington, the town I grew up in, to Indianapolis in 2004. I needed to get out of that town and spread my wings, had to see what else might be out there.  I wanted to leave but I didn't want to go far, I mean this girl needed to be able to see her dad & sister within a short drive.  Looking back I believe part of me wanted to leave because so much of it reminded me of my mom, who I had lost a few years prior.  It was almost torture to be there and not have her with me.

 

I have been in Indianapolis going on 10 years now, Adam and I bought our home almost 8 years ago.  I can honestly say that I love our house and we have made it a home. It feels comfortable and cozy, things that I feel are a must in a home.  We have family and friends who visit and say they just want to curl up with a blanket and go to sleep, to me this means I have done my job of creating a warm, welcoming house.  A place people feel comfortable enough to kick off their shoes, grab a blanket and make them selves at home.  This is 'home"!

 

But, is your house all that matters in feeling at "home", or are there other factors?

 

On a recent trip to Bloomington Madelyn asked me "mom, why does it take so long to get to Papaw & Grandma and Aunt Saddie's house"?  I explained the obvious, that they live in a different town and that it takes 90 minutes to get there.  That wasn't good enough and here is how the conversation went:

 

Maddy: NOOOO mom, why do they live in a different town then us?

Me: Well, mommy grew up in Bloomington where they live but when I got older, MUCH older then you, I decided to move to Indianapolis.

Maddy: Why?

Me:  Because I wanted a change and your daddy and I decided to get married so we bought a house and stayed in Indianapolis.

Maddy: So it's your fault!

Me: I guess so.

 

And there you have it folks, my four year old called me out! Yes, I guess it kind of is my fault that we live in Indianapolis. As we drove on and began to enter Monroe county on Highway 37 I got my usual sense of calm.  I can't explain it but it's almost like a sigh of relief my body does, as if to say "welcome home".  This time though I noticed how Maddy began commenting on our surroundings, she was pointing out the hills, the big rocks, and pretty trees that made up the landscape.  She can feel it to, there truly is something special about this town.  This is "home"!Some of you know that my family owns a bed & breakfast in Bloomington, if you haven't stayed, you should!   I lived in the original part of the house when I was a little girl, until I was 5 years old. I then returned to the house as an 18 year old and lived in the upstairs, it was my apartment. It was my great grandmother's house, I absolutely adored her.  I spent many days there with her after my family moved into our new house next door. I would play dress up in her shoes, hats, scarves and jewelry.  She was always on board to let me do her hair and make-up.  I can specifically remember standing in the kitchen drinking our "black cows" next to the heater so we would stay warm. I also remember exactly how she and the house smelled. We still have many family gatherings in that house even though it's a B&B now, to me it just feels "right".  This is "home"!

 

I'm not sure where I am going with this other then it recently occurred to me that "home" isn't exactly one particular place for me.  Home for me is a combination of places but the one common denominator...FAMILY!   I suppose the saying "home is where your heart is" rings true for me, because my heart is where my family is.