"The Book of Me, Written by You" - The feeling of home

This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations.

This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf

This is a journey of finding yourself and how your loved ones see you in their eyes. Further, this can be online and carried forward to share, if you wish, to future generations. - See more at: http://joannfitz.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/the-book-of-me-written-by-you-topic-1.html#sthash.2TuO2bVu.dpuf

The prompt for the week is:    

The feeling of home

The Brief:

Home means different things to different people, so this week we are going to explore what it means to us

• What does it feel like?
• How do you recognize it?
• What makes it home - people, place, time

The most common phrase I always hear is "Home is where the heart is". Growing up, I didn't understand this concept. Even now, I think I understand it but it still feels foreign to me. This is confusing and I'll like to warn you, not everyone (within my family) will be happy to read some of the things below, but its what I feel.



I believe that home is what you make of it. Growing up, we had a place to live...and I visited my father on Sundays. Home? That is probably what I made out of those 2 places. That being said, we moved every 3-5 years when I was growing up, so once I started to feel comfortable, I guess would be the name of it, it would be time to move once again.

Early 1990s with a small group of my friends

Fast forward this to high school, and what I realized was that my physical address and the people in it might change, but my friends in school that were around me almost never did. If anything, there always seemed to be a few people that didn't belong any place so we accepted them into the group of us. There was one year when we moved from one part of the state to another, but that only lasted for about a year and then I went back to the original school and most of the group was still around, although people were changing and the one group was splitting bit by bit, but no matter what if anyone needed us we were all there for them.

We had a few issues within the family and then there was college at the local college I went to. The old group in school went their own ways and it seemed like I made what I could out of it. Made some new friends and learned quite a bit about relationships. In fact, one of the classes I took, psychology 101, actually went over relationships and why they are formed, etc. For me this was great because I started to understand people within the family and what they do and the reasons behind the way the groups and people were in high school. Interesting and informative.

By the time I was ready to complete my Associates Degree, I understood living compared to feeling accepted. Unfortunately I had both my in my life which is why I've always had the problem understanding the difference between a house to a home and the statement "Home is where the heart is" and I understand why.

A house can be a place you live and existing with common people which you have a relationship with. A home is where you find yourself completely accepted for who you are without reservation or judgement. This is why the term home is so difficult to understand for some people - if you don't have those types of relationships with a group of people then you wouldn't fully understand those statements.

Did I have a family that cares for me? Yes, but I never truly got the feeling as they accepted me completely and without reservations. They took care of me and made sure I had food, and a roof over the head, but the feelings? That's another story.

A few years ago - a group of my friends and I from high school

Over the last 10 plus years, I've reconnected with some of my friends in high school. The best thing about it is it feels like it hasn't been those many years since we last saw each other. It was great to feel that relaxed around people I grew up around.


So do I have a home? Yes, I believe once we got married, we truly have a home where everyone is welcome (to a degree which is a long and personal story), but everyone must be accepted and respected above all else because our family and friends which walk through the door are loved because of these things and that IS what a home is. I know as a person, all I've ever wanted was to be completely accepted.

Us in front of our home

 Check back for the continuation of "The Book of me, Written by You" series.