HOME Sweet HOME

The other day I was reading the "REAL SIMPLE" magazine. They have a section in it where readers are invited to write in with their answers about a chosen topic. This month's topic was 'What does home mean to you?" The answers mainly had to do with the senses -the smells, the sights, the tastes, the touches, the sounds of home. Some were really touching - "Home means sanctuary."; some were funny - "Home is where I can take off my bra."; some were thought-provoking - "I work at a nonprofit organization serving the homeless, and they have taught me that home is where you are treated with dignity and respect and where you feel safe and deserving, even on the worst of days.".

It was an interesting read. Of course I began to think about what home means to me, and mentally wrote it up. It's a bit longer than I could fit into the required space for "REAL SIMPLE", so I am going to put my two cents into this post.

Home means rounding the driveway and seeing the dog poke her head out of the space between the stairs in the deck, to see who it is and then running to meet me. She greets the driver first, and then looks under the van, to see if any passengers are getting out, and then she runs around the other side, to let them know she's glad they are home.

Home means mucking around on a Saturday morning in my jammies until I absolutely have to get out of them.

Home means having everyone around the table and not being able to get a word in edgewise , because #1 son is busy entertaining us with his impersonations of various t.v. shows/you tube videos/accents of the world/teachers/store front personnel.

Home means a cup of tea at the end of the day with my husband - his with milk and sugar; mine with milk - and talking over the issues of the day, or sitting in silence, enjoying the moment.

Home means celebrating a soccer win with son #2 by stopping at the drive-through and bringing it back to enjoy together.

Home means Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas dinner with extended family and friends.

Home means hopping on a plane and visiting my Dad; going down memory lane when I run into people from my high school years. And when I return, I talk about 'when I went home, I ..."

Home means a video and pizza night on Fridays after a long week of 'doing our own thing'.