Home is Where Your Heart Is

Today’s topic for Blog Every Day in May is Home Sweet Home. It’s an interesting topic for me as I have had many homes.

I was born in Wisconsin and before I was 6 we moved to Indiana. After 9 years there my parents moved us again, this time to Minnesota.

Then I got married and moved to England.

Which is where I have lived now for nearly 9 years. I have been here long enough that I am comfortable living here as an ExPat.

However I still refer to the states as home.

If we settle here forever, which is still undetermined, I will always call the USA home. I don’t call a particular state home though.

Because my parents have moved twice since I have been over here and there house isn't a house I consider home. Yet, when I visit I feel like I am at home because I’m comfortable in my parents company.

Basically I have defined home from a conversation I had with my daughter when she was 5.

I hadn't been home to visit my family in a while and I said to my husband “I just want to go home!” to which my daughter had appeared in the room (she does that a lot) and said, “But, Mommy you are home.”

I looked at her and realized that for her she’s never known any other home. There was no way I could explain it to make her understand how I was feeling. Homesickness is a real thing especially when you are living outside of your home country.

I said to her “Of course I am, where ever you, your sister, and your dad are then I am home.”

And it might be cheesy, but it’s what I've learned living abroad: home is where your heart is. My heart happens to be in two different places at once. It's with my little family no matter what country or house we are in, but it is also with my mom, dad, and sisters in the USA no matter what state they are in! It's okay for your heart to be divided. 

notes: this post was written for day 14 of Blog Every Day in May hosted by Rosalilium. Pictures are not my own, but were listed as free images.