Thursday, June 25, 2015

Where is Home?


"Where is home for you?"

Reid asked me this question once.
At the time,  I was too busy eating my tacos to really take him seriously so I almost ignored him.
What did he mean where is home for me?

I thought it was simple...

My home is my parents house in Williamsburg.

Was I wrong?
This was my gut reaction...so clearly, I went with it.

Home is my childhood house.
My bedroom, which still has my pictures from high school up on the walls.
The staircase that I walked down my entire life.
The yard that I spent hours roaming around and have my childhood pets buried.
The living room that we spent every Christmas in and still do.
The window I used to stare out of, waiting in anticipation for my brothers to get home from college.
Home is the house I grew up in.
Home is where my parents are.

Honestly, I have an unhealthy relationship with my parents house. In my mind, it's this all powerful "being" that was there for my entire childhood. It opened it's doors for me when I was brought home from the hospital. Saw me take my first step and go on my first date. It's front porch supported my parents every time I got in my Honda and went back to college. The image of my mother crying and waving goodbye will never leave me.  It's walls have a million stories all about me. It wrapped it's arms around me and was always my safe place.

But was all this still true?

I wasn't sure until I saw the look on Reid's face, which immediately told me no.

And then he spoke and the words that came out of his mouth hit me like a ton of bricks.

So simple. So true.
And so what every single girl wants a boy to tell her.

"I want your home to be where I am.
I thought your home was our home.
I think my home is where you are."

After getting over the fact that I had been a complete ass, I felt this overwhelming sense of love for him and the home we are creating in Richmond. I was determined to change my way of thinking and take his words to heart.

A house is just a building with walls, windows, paint and doors. The memories you make in that house are the strong foundation that make it a home.

As we prepare for Lucie's arrival, I feel the overwhelming sense to make our house a home. A home that she will one day remember with the same kind of love and fondness that I feel towards my parents house. And that starts with a major change in mindset. My parents house will always be a home in my mind. I will always love turning onto their street and walking through the front door. It's just not my home anymore. My home is with Reid and our growing family.

xoxo

18 comments:

  1. Aww this gave me chills! I used to feel the same way about my childhood home. And the last time I was in it was two days before my wedding and as I left it for the last time I said goodbye because I knew my parents were selling it and it was hard, but home is where my husband is and that is the truth! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  2. Love this! See, Reid does have a soft side...sometimes :) xoxo

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  3. aww this is so sweet. and i agree 100% although i miss Chicago, HOME is where H and Violet are :) and my home will always be with them. xo jillian - cornflake dreams

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  4. Seriously this gave me chills. I can't even really tell you where my home is right now. I used to say Boston but now I've been in FL for just as long. Home is definitely where your family is. It sounds like you have a wonderful husband :)

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  5. I love this, so sweet! I think it's normal to not realize some of these things until you're starting your own little family. I know that since having our daughter, my husband and I have become more cohesive about OUR family, meaning the three of us, versus before when we still both so strongly identified with my family and your family. It's one of the beautiful changes of a baby and you have a fabulous outlook going into it!

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  6. Oh my word this post made me cry...like really haha I feel the EXACT same way with everything you said about your parents home but how right your hubby is!! Love this!!

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  7. I feel ya. I have a strong connection to my mom's house (and even your house a little bit too!) and I do get homesick for it sometimes. Being a military spouse helped me break that attachment to home, and I have been a tumbleweed in the wind over the years. I find it hard to feel at home in my current house because I don't really like it here, but I know we will be on the move again soon because my husband is looking to get transferred either back to GA or another place that's not here. Wherever we are, we just roll with it. We know we won't be there long, and that's perfectly ok - we have each other, our cats, and we make each place our own.

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  8. I mentioned this very thing in a post yesterday. I realised when I was writing about all my past houses that I don't feel sentimental for any of them because home is wherever my girls are. I bet you will feel differently when Lucie arrives, then home will be where she is xx

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  9. Your first home sounds like the perfect fairy tale. Unfortunately I moved a lot when I was a kid (to a different continent even!) so there is no "childhood home" for me. Well maybe my grandparents' house. I love their house. I hope to create what you had for our children in the future. Love this post!

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  10. For me, home is where the heart is, and my heart is with Kyle and Sophie, so I can definitely understand Reid's sentiment, but I don't think yours was wrong either. Your thinking just meant that your home is what brought you to where you are now. Reid is what will bring you into the future.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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  11. Beautiful post, and Reid's comment was so sweet. Home really is where your husband and children are, now. Growing up with your parents and having a wonderful childhood home was your home, and now you have a new one with your new family.

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  12. I love love love this. I wouldn't say I am as attached to a 'house' since we moved a couple of times but more the city I grew up in. I technically still consider that home even though I haven't lived there in 9 years (that's crazy)... if only I could get my husband to move there, best of both worlds ;)

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  13. I'm so thankful that Reid decided to make "home" in Richmond so we can go through life together. Makes me love him even more. (Yes, we do love you but we all love Reid too!!)

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  14. I'm so thankful that Reid decided to make "home" in Richmond so we can go through life together. Makes me love him even more. (Yes, we do love you but we all love Reid too!!)

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  15. I have always wished I had one childhood home to be attached to. We moved too much for me to feel any of them are home still. There is something so appealing to me about the stability of knowing that house is there waiting for you, unchanged. Especially since my husband and I move so much, I wish I had a constant like that.

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  16. What a beautiful post, I love it! It is amazing and special to have the memories in your childhood home and knowing that you will be creating that with your family is just as special! Xo, Stephanie

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  17. Such a sweet post! Transitioning my mindset to home being with my husband and not my parents has definitely been a process since getting married!

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