So I spent the weekend in "the other house," I have been in DC for 7 years, but other than my clothes, I never really moved out of the house in Lexington. I come back, and except for the closet being empty it is like I never left. J jokes that he wants to keep it like was I was alive.
I have lived in 5 states, owned 5 homes over the past 33 years (and rented a couple of apartments.) Where is home brings a complicated answer, additionally complicated by having had to homes for the past 7 years. My father use to joke that home is where he hangs his hat, and he doesn't wear a hat anymore, so he is not sure where home is. (I have started a list of $hit my father use to say.)
I am easily at home where I am. It is common for me to visit someplace and think, I could live here. Not everyplace, I don't think I would be happy in Iowa, or Mississippi. But much of the country. It takes a few months for me to settle in, figure out where to shop, what the local specialties are, where the best views are, then I am home. Happiness is an inside deal, it is something I bring with me, not the result of my surroundings, Home is where the happiness is, and I can be happy "almost" anyplace.
RAMEN, bro! hope you and sweet bear had a loverly valentine's day together!
ReplyDeleteMy parents moved frequently when I was a child, and I have done the same thing as an adult. I've always felt like I never had roots and I deeply regret it.
ReplyDeleteBut, as you said, "home" is where the happiness is. That's most important.
This is a common theme for you I think: not having a sense of a fixed place for 'home'.
ReplyDeleteHappiness really is an inside deal. I'm grateful that I know this little nugget of wisdom.
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