I loved those words penned by one of my best blogging pals, Gigi. It made me think of my own definitions home. My Dad was in the Army, and until I was 12, we moved about every two years. We lived in Indonesia and Williamsburg and many points in between. So, as a child, home was wherever the four of us landed. Once the furniture came through the door, I knew I was home.
As I entered my teens we settled in North Georgia, just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee. In those formative years, I truly became a southern girl. Adopted, maybe, but still, the South is my heart's home. I married a good ol' Southern boy and happily traded my New York City dreams for those of a more rural variety.
Early in our marriage we spent several very happy years in the (rural) Pacific Northwest. I could go on and on and on about how much I love Oregon and miss the Northwest. I could tell you about how great it is to get back for a visit every other summer, and how I always have a foot long list of places and people I must revisit. But, my heart still longs for the South.
Now we live in the Midwest. Missouri has brought many gifts into our lives, including two wonderful teaching careers and the chance to live near my parents. And still, our hearts long for the Tennessee River, Lookout Mountain, a slightly slower pace of life, and the chance to say, "Ya'll" regularly.
I think the South will always be my heart's home. But, my real home? Funny how some things never change. Home is still where my family is. As long as Jeffrey and Sloane are there, any place at all can be home. Any place at all.
This eight year old picture is still one of my favorites of Jeffrey and Sloane. How blessed I am that they still enjoy each other that much.
15 comments:
What a lovely post. What you say is so true - home is the relationships we have (although like you there are certain places in the world that call to me). As our family prepares to leave the city where we've lived for over 20 years, and the house where my daughter has spent most of her growing-up years, we've been talking a lot about the meaning of home, and all that we'll take with us. By which I don't just mean Stuff...
There is no place like home :)
I share your sentiment exactly. When my husband had a chance to move back to his hometown, I decided that it didn't matter where we lived because wherever we landed would become home, too. I'm like you in that my family moved every year or two when my dad was in the Air Force. We settled in Northwest Georgia, home to my parents, when I was about eight. I'm the type who likes to get somewhere and stay while my oldest sister moves when the urge strikes her. I lived in Cedartown and Rome. Where did you live? Ringold, Dalton, Dade County?
Home is where the heart is
Love you
Jeanne
My husband was in the Army for 21 years and I quickly learned that home was wherever we were as long as we were together. We're from California but discovered the South when he was stationed here, so when we retired it was to Georgia and it fits us perfectly.
What a beautiful post this is, and what a beautiful family you have, Relyn!
Wishing you a wonderful day!
Having spent most of my youth and early married years in the military I can so relate to your post. And now I live in your beloved South, just a 30-minute drive from the Tennessee River.
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kisses!
Emilia
What a lovely post and I am just a little envious of all the wonderfully varied places you have lived in :). But also good to have clarity about the most important thing …
So true! I kinda thought you were a Southern girl at heart. My heart belongs in California on the beach and in the sunshine. But Oregon is a good second choice.
Home, it,s a place where u can sit down for a minute and have not a care for, even if the world is falling apart outside. And this home can be anywhere where u can find the one,s u love with u.
I am still wishing that you will return to Victoria the next time you come to the Northwest.
I promise to make you feel at home...even so far from home.
:)
Oh, and I meant to say...
That photo is the most adorable pic ever!!!!!!
Just wanted to tell you that this is a beautiful post (the way it's written and what it expresses), and that I've bookmarked it :)
i so understand
and feel your heart
and stand beside
and raise my glass of sweet-ish tea, a toast to hearth and home.
love is all we need, ya'll:)
-jennifer
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