AT HOME MONDAY: We're home!

Nothing makes you appreciate home more than leaving it behind.  We took off last week to southern Indiana to see my sister and do some deer hunting, and although it was sad saying goodbye, it was good to get back home to family, dogs, and our own stuff.  

What is it, exactly, that makes home different from anywhere else?  I mean, my sister's home is comfortable, spacious, cozy, and beautiful.  Her (and her husband's) hospitality is wonderful--they fed us well, provided us with a good place to sleep, a great place to hunt, and anything else we needed.  (Except when DirecTV stopped working and her computer messed up!)  Her four dogs are almost equal to my own babies in sweetness and cuddliness, and everyone gets along famously.  So why was it good to get back home?

FAMILY:  Jimmy and I were 850 miles from our children, our parents, and my other sister and her family, and my brother and his wife.  Jimmy and I talked of moving to Indiana because of its beauty and climate and gigantic deer, but we would have to bring our children and parents with us.  I couldn't bear to move that far away from them!

DOGS:  Our three Boston terriers become despondent every time I pull a suitcase out of the closet.  They hate for us to leave them alone, and although my daughter stayed here to feed them and keep them company, they were depressed and sad the whole week.  They missed us terribly, and I missed them.

STUFF:  Comedian George Carlin had an act where he talked about what people do to hold their stuff--buy bigger homes and storage buildings, carry suitcases and purses, etc. just to hold their stuff.  People need stuff to keep their stuff in, because finding a place to put your stuff is the meaning of life, etc.  There is a teeny bit of truth in all of that, although I don't like to admit that I am as materialistic as all that.  As many suitcases and bags as we pack, we leave most of our things behind when we travel.  I missed my favorite chair, my TV programs, my laptop, my bed, my books.  The only thing I really didn't miss was my housework!

Home, sweet Home!


So those things mean home to me.  I love visiting the homes of my family and friends, but it is always good to get back to my own home, as shabby and humble as it may be.  "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home," the old saying goes.  

XOXO


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