Home

I mentioned earlier this month that my brother, C, is moving out of state. Well, that is happening this weekend. It's been especially hard on our mom, as that's two of her three children now living over 14 hours away. C has always lived fairly close to my mom after he moved out of the house, as did I. So "home" for us has always been our mom's house. We're all grown up now (I can't believe he's 26) and have started to make families of our own. And this got me thinking about how our definition of "home" evolves as we get older.

There are so many sayings surrounding what "home" is, and I can relate in some form or fashion to just about every one. 

Home is where your heart is.

Home is where your mom is.

Home is where your husband/wife is.

Home is where your dog/cat is.

Home is where the bra isn't.

Home is where the pants aren't.

Home is where you make it.

Home is wherever you are.

Home is where our story begins.

So I sat for a while trying to decide what "home" really means to me. My biggest challenge was deciding between Georgia and Missouri. That is exceptionally tough because most of my family, who I am very close to, live in Georgia. It is where I was born, where I lived for 27 years, 1 month, and 5 days. Yes, I counted. However, Missouri is where I have have lived for 2 years, 3 months, and 21 days. Missouri is where I became a wife (well legally it was Arkansas, but we're not being too technical here) and transformed Philip's bachelor pad into a grown up and well organized space. Missouri is where we adopted our furkids. 

How do I choose one place over the other when both have shaped who I am, both hold precious memories, both have important people, and both mean so very much to me. So you see me dilemma? 

But then I wondered why does home have to be only one specific place? Why can't we have more than one? I don't want to be so limited, do you? So I'm choosing both. I have a home in Georgia, where my Mom is, and I have a home, here in Missouri, where my own little family is. For me, home is where you are loved, and I am loved in more than once place. And so are you.

Where do you call home? Is it more than one place?