The Meaning of Home

What is home to you? Is it a feeling, a smell, your cozy bed, a person, a house? Home has so many intricate meanings. Living a somewhat gypsy life all throughout motherhood has brought me personally to so many feelings about the word home. Is home a place? I'm not so sure.

Home is where the heart is

For me, the definition of home is a little more complicated. moving my family from Costa Rica to Miami and back multiple times, sometimes moving every three months. So, when someone asks me what home is, I can’t give them a straight answer. So…Is home your house where your material things live? Or is home a river or a beach lookout? Is it the comfort of your loved ones? Is it your dog?Is it home-cooked food? Is it security? 

My casita in Costa Rica

But maybe the concept of home can be narrowed down by sticking to the idea that it's geographical. But for someone like me who has never really settled into a long-term place, that doesn’t feel right. And I know that's not the norm because most people I know have lived in their homes for many years if not decades. But in the last 21 years, my family has lived in 18 houses, a sailboat, a treehouse, and a school bus. 

One of my many homes

After I got back from traveling this summer, I came to a realization. I’ve never been rooted all the way. I’ve always bounced around from place to place, exploring new sights and sounds. For me, it felt natural to move around, it just happened to be the reality we created. 

But sometimes I wonder. Can you really flourish when you’re constantly moving around? After all, the strongest trees have the deepest roots. And trees don’t often survive a big move.   

Can you really just check in and take up roots at any time in your life? And, will your roots help you grow stronger, or are they temporary?

roots or wings?

I’m not entirely sure, but one thing that I can say is that moving keeps the load light. With each new move, you clean out the accumulation of possessions that always seems to build up fast.  

And then when I look at all the stuff I accumulate in just a year, I often find that I don’t even use most of it. So, sometimes I look at starting over as an opportunity to free my life and myself of unnecessary clutter. In this case, pulling up my roots feels like a cleanse, a reset button and that can be exciting.

#journey

Now I’ve lived in my current house for over four years—the longest  I’ve ever lived in a home since being married. I’ve put down roots. But if you asked me if my house is home, I’d say no probably not. 

But this summer when I was traveling, I felt myself missing this home, this life, my shop, my children, my husband, my dog…. and even my house in Costa Rica because that's my true home too. So can home really be just one thing? 

Maybe home is ever-changing just like life. Maybe there's no real security in anything we do. And maybe the only real thing you can count on is change. And maybe the true meaning of home is always evolving.

Sometimes I wonder if I've missed out on being fully rooted. now, I'm at a stage in my life where I crave real grounding and feel the benefits of the commitment.  

But let's be real… I think there are a ton of people who would also love the gypsy life but it wasn't in their cards… just like the opposite wasn't the case for me.  

And really, I think maybe home is wherever you make it… whether you're a wildflower with roots that are easily pulled out or a giant tree,  both are equally important parts of our ecosystem.