There’s No Place Like Home

Mom decided after a quick weekend getaway from Charlestons to stop by in town to cook Sunday dinner before heading back to Atlanta for family fellowship. My mom waltzed in with grocery bags filled with what she was prepping for our impromptu dinner that she was sure to throw down on in making herself at home in the kitchen. I can remember growing up as a little girl in thinking about my dream home in not being particular about the size, color, or even it’s permanent location. I thought about how my home would make my family and I feel along with those who entered. Luther Vandross sung it best when he belted,” A House Is Not A Home” with so much convention. I believe that regardless the size of the house or the diversity of the family’s dynamics within the walls that we have the responsibility in creating a home with warmth, peace, and safety.

Size & Location

I’ve had the pleasure to enter into many places for one thing or another, and I can tell you regardless of the amount of space along with the zip code there were just some homes that felt like they were baked with the warmth of love. I’ve also entered some homes that for the life of me I couldn’t put my fingers on it at the time that felt tensely sterile with coldness. My daughter befriend one of my students while sharing class together. The girls desperately wanted a play date to meet up, so I agreed to pick the young lady up to visit. She marveled at our modest home, but I equally felt the same about her home. Many of my students live with financial strain which can impact where they live, but my student’s gracious family eagerly welcomed us when we arrived making their home feel so inviting.We moved around growing up, but there is one tiny home that was two houses down from my grandparents that we lived in that I have fond memories in claiming it as my childhood home.

Different Safety

Most of us will agree that we want our homes to be a safe place from danger, the elements, crime, and other unpredictable nuisances. I’ve learned that creating a safe home is about making those who enter and more importantly those who live there feel comfortable. I had a girlfriend call me a few years back who I met during my final tenure with my then homeschooling group. She was a single mom with three teens stressed to the max. We lived a good distance away, but I could hear in the sound of her voice that she needed me to come over immediately . I picked up my girlfriend in asking her where did she want us to go. She wanted to visit my home. I went to fix her some coffee, and I saw her fall sound to sleep on the couch before I handed her the cup. I found myself years later befriend closely a sweet fellow dance mom who lovely would invite my family and I for dinners occasionally with her family. She was Dominican and an excellent cook. Her loving home was like a second home to me, and I would oftentimes take a quick nap after partaking in her delicious home cooking along with it being a place of safety to rest my spirit on dark days. My teen nephew who lived with me for a spell always refer to our house as home in stopping by to chill in getting a nice hot plate of southern classics, motivation to get on the right path, and have a place with no judgment.

What Home Isn’t

Home isn’t about having the most immaculate space. I always have a load to fold over here. Home isn’t about living in the most prestigious district as we’ve seen many famous celebrities in mansions that have been open with sharing loneliness, sadness, and emptiness despite their wealth. Home isn’t necessary a place; home could as well be a person. Home is a feeling, it’s a taste, it’s an emotion, it’s a memory, and it’s something that no matter where we get lost we always come back to.