Man it feels like it's been forever!!! I missed this space but also know that it's ok to take a breather from time to time. Especially when I'm out of my routine. Anyway...
Life continues to do its thing over here. I just got back from a girls trip in Belize to celebrate all of us turning 40 this year. Can't even believe I'm saying that. I've got another month to go but we already know how it's gonna go down.
So for the past month, minus the week in Belize, I have been in the physical location of home. Most of the time when we think of home, we think of a physical place, right? But what I'm learning is that home is a feeling, and as I settle into and become intimately acquainted with the feeling, I'm realizing that home is anywhere I am at ease and feel at peace. Home is here in Mississippi as I sit in my parents' yard and watching the butterflies and dragonflies zipping around. Home was in Japan exploring a new culture and finding resonance in differing belief systems. Home was in Belize letting the breeze blow through my hair as I sip a cocktail by the Caribbean Sea. And home with be in Germany with whatever my soul finds there. All because I now know what it feels like to be home.
This is something a lot of people, and especially military families, struggle with. Where is home, or you ask my kids "where are you from?" My three will tell you where they were born, and then proceed to tell you where they have lived, and they may tell you Mississippi since that is where there grandparents are.
Home can be a hug that you melt into. A forehead kiss that makes you feel safe. A held hand when anxiety is creeping in. It's a peace in your gut that knows that no matter where you are and what is going on, you can always come home to yourself.
The hard part is identifying that feeling. What does it feel like to be at peace with yourself even in the midst of change? Home doesn't make you uncomfortable. Home doesn't ask you to shrink. Home accepts you as you are, imperfections and all. Yeah, I know, it isn't always going to feel this way, but if it ain't that loving feeling 75% of the time, you might want to rethink who and what you consider home.
So tell me, how would you describe home? Is it a state you are currently in or is it something that you are striving for?