by Judy
I remember watching The Wizard of Oz as a kid. I felt worried and nervous as Dorothy made her way along the yellow brick road. Being home-sick as a child I couldn't think of much worse than being all alone, away from my family, away from my home. I was always so happy when Dorothy closed her eyes tightly, clicked her heels together, and repeated, "there is no place like home, there is no place like home, there is no place like home..." When she awoke in her own bed, in her own home, with her family surrounding her, it made me feel like all was right once again.
The dictionary definition of home is "the place where one lives permanently." Have you ever heard of a definition more lacking than this one? We all know that home is so much more.
To me, home is works of art displayed on the refrigerator door, and our son reading funny excerpts to us from his books. It's magic tricks and knock-knock jokes. It's measuring how high he can jump and listening to funny stories that happened in school. It's one-on-one basketball games, band-aids on the knees, hugs and kisses, and silly dances to "Dad's" music. It's cursing under our breath as we step on Lego's left on the floor because "I'm going to play with them later." It's "please stop bouncing the basketball in the house!" It's one minute he's our little boy, and the next he seems so grown up...
When our older son is home from college it's a pile of laundry, maybe hoping that Mom will do it before he gets up. It's a refrigerator filled with all of his favorites, guitar picks strewn here and there. It's empty bags of chips on the night stand, books and a laptop on the dining room table, and the dog following him from room to room because, after all, she misses him as much as we do. It's hugs and happiness. It's the feeling of "a family complete."
It's the sound of my husband's car pulling into the driveway each evening, a welcome home kiss. It's arguments, and making up. It's wearing your PJ's around all day on Saturday. It's long bubble baths and routines. It's where I work and where I rest. It's where we can kick off our shoes, and our inhibitions.
Home is our sanctuary. Our safe place. The place where we gather, in happy and sad times. Home is a feeling. A feeling of love.
We hope that each and every one of you feels at home here with us. So pour yourself a cup of coffee - or tea. Leave us a comment, share a photo, or tell us a story. We'd love to hear what "home" is to you.
8 comments:
This may sound odd but I've sat and thought about it and it is true for me. Home, to me, is when Pat and I step back into Wooden's River, after the long wait through the winter. That river is our "home" river, where we spend so much of our time, where we've learned over many years all the nooks and rocks and deep spots where the fish lay in. As soon as we step into it (April 1st, not long now) I have this enormous feeling of "coming home" and my heart always feels so full. That's home to me.
You have described it perfectly, Judy! Home is all that and more. When I saw that definition, I thought the same thing you did -- home is so much more than a place. Home for me is all the memories that were made here and the feeling that this is where I belong. All three of my sons have recently moved into new homes and I am hoping that they will make many happy memories there as well. Everyone should have a place where they can come at the end of the day and just say, "Ahhh, I'm home!"
What a beautiful post, Judy. I have so many versions of the definition of "home". From where I grew up and feel the most connetion with as a physical place, to where I live now with my immediate family - where I've built a home and memories. But I love the song HOME by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: "home is whenever I'm with you."
lovely post I spent many years in a boarding school so I've often felt a bit homeless a bit nomadic. But with marriage and children I found that as long as they were around I was home. There is a great song written by Clive Gregson and one of the verses says :-
That home is where the heart is
Take those steps across the floor
Into the arms of the one who loves you
And never roam no more
No never roam no more
No more
Such a good post, Judy! You're so right, home is much more than that very dry definition! I was nodding along through your descriptions of your home!
such a great post jusy! home for me is sanctuary. it's the place where i recharge. it's the place where my family comes together. we share meals. like you said, we argue and make-up. i have this big sign on the wall that says, 'home is where your story begins.' for me it's all about my family and our story.
Lovely post, Judy! Lovely because it's true. No matter what fun places we may visit, there's no place like home, family, all the things that fill you up.
Beautiful post, Judy. Home means something special to us women since we are such nurturers and nesters. Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts!!
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