Home.
I’m finally home.
After a trip to Blissdom and then a visit with my parents, Zack and I finally arrived back home on Friday night. We had a wonderful trip, but as always, we were ready to be home. We missed our little family – Daddy, our dogs, my glue gun- and the love and comfort they provide us. On our flight back to Texas, I asked Zack what he missed the most about home. “Daddy,” he simply replied.
But, it wasn’t just missing our family’s love and comfort that made us miss home. I mean, we spent about a week with my parents – we were surrounded by nothing but love, comfort, and warmth. Home is more than just that though, isn’t it?
A commonly stitched country sampler reads, “Home is where the heart is.” There’s no doubt about that – our home is where our family gets to just be ourselves. We get to laugh and play, wear mismatched pajamas, and leave dishes in the sink because we didn’t feel like loading the dishwasher. Home is where we get to just be the “us” that we want to be, not the “them” that everyone else thinks we should be.
But, there’s another thing about home that I always miss. I spend a lot of time making our home beautiful, comfortable, and lived-in. I fill it with items that we love so that there will always be something special to make us smile, even when Zack misses his nap, Tom has to work late, and I have ruined yet another Campbell’s Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole for dinner (Seriously. Is there something wrong with that recipe or is it just me? I’m figuring just me.). The items that fill our home are just “items,” but they bring us a lot of comfort in return. I know that I could live without my apothecary jars and white down comforter if I had to, but guess what? I don’t want to.
Don’t get me wrong- family is first and foremost the most important thing in my life. There simply wouldn’t be a home without them. But, even when we travel together as a complete family unit, there’s still nothing like returning home. That makes me realize that home is really more than a cute saying on a country sampler. I think home is a combination of all of the things we love – family, pets, window treatments, and thrift store finds. You could lose all of your possessions tomorrow, but you would still work towards replacing them to truly feel like you were home again, wouldn’t you? I know I would. Maybe the saying “Home is where you hang your hat,” is more apt…but only if you have a really adorable hat rack in the entryway.
What do you think? Is your home more than just family to you?
