There’s No Place Like Home

“Home is the comfiest place to be.” ~Winnie the Pooh
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ~Maya Angelou
“Where we love is home — that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

This concept of home has been rattling around in my head and heart lately. We are very blessed to now have two houses, so where then is ‘home?’

When Pat went to Idaho in April to pick up our keys and get some things set up in the new house, I asked him on the phone if he still liked the house. I wanted reassurance that we had made a good choice, the right choice for us. His reply was, “It will take a lot of work to make it what we want.”  This honestly freaked me out a bit!  I was instantly full of doubt and concern about our decision. He further explained that it felt cold and castle-like due to the concrete floors, adobe type walls, and stonework, and that it will take a while to feel like a home. As we spoke, I knew in my heart that, with time, we could create a warm and loving space up there, just as we did here in Oceanside over the past 24 years. It would just take time.

Upon our arrival in late June, for our first long stay in the house, we were equipped with two mattress sets and some camping chairs. And Pat was accurate, it did feel cold and empty. It echoed.

But none-the-less, the house was beautiful and just our style.  Over those first few days, our main focus was setting up the kitchen and bathrooms. And as I walked through the house during that first week, organizing one thing or another, a feeling of home unexpectedly washed over me. It was that intangible warmth that settles one’s soul.

Pat was wrong… but don’t tell him I said that!! Because even though physically, the house was still cold with just concrete, adobe, and stone, we had already quickly made it a home by sharing our love and excitement and dreams for the future there.

As the summer progressed, and we added rugs, couches, and chairs, the space warmed up tremendously and became a cozy sanctuary for us. We also welcomed five sets of visitors and bringing in family, friends, love and laughter definitely added to the feeling of home.

I write this now as I sit ‘back home’ in Oceanside, and despite my joyfulness about reconnecting with loved ones, I’m honestly struggling a bit with being back. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.”

I couldn’t agree more.