Recently a friend who had relocated from her two-story house of many years to a one- bedroom apartment commented, “I realize I just called this home.” In her case, she had closed her mother’s home of many years with all those old treasures from times past. Two homes to close in less than eight months was significant. Additionally, her husband in a memory care facility, could now be moved closer to her new home.
Columnist Marty Coffin Evans
Perhaps all these factors played into the sense of home. She’s managed to grapple with the idea of home. Where is it? What makes a space or place home? Poetry has become her means of exploring and making sense of finding home.We’ve heard “Home is where you heart is.” Or, it might also be said: “Home is where your stuff is.” Years ago chairing an accreditation in Japan, I asked my team mates where home was for them
A very blond Cathy, who looked like someone from the California beaches said, “I guess this is home since I’ve lived in Taiwan longer than any other place.” Does length of time mean a place is now home? We comment about a church home or feeling at home in certain places. Perhaps having family nearby, or readily accessible, provides a sense of home. Quite possibly returning to where we grew up, or lived in different parts of our lives, gives us a sense of homecoming.
We celebrate homecoming during the fall, often around football games. We reconnect with friends from years ago. In so doing, we return to roots established at some point in time. Reunions provide us with a sense of connecting with home whether where we grew up or just plain being with others significant to us – family, friends or both. Where is home after all? Maybe it’s what we make it no matter the location.
Martha (Marty) Coffin Evans, Ed.D. is a freelance writer with MACE Associates, LLC. She can be reached at itsmemartee@aol.com.