Can You Really Go Home Again?

As I've said ad nauseum, we move a lot. This creates an interesting perspective on the definition of home. My sisters call the east coast of Canada "back home", even though they've lived for decades on the opposite side of the country. Even I call the East coast "back home" occasionally, though I spent the majority of my life in the west.

We're back in Vancouver and it's the city that I truly think of as "home". When asked where I'm from, it's my answer. It's my home town, despite my birth certificate; it's the place that I know and understand - even after I've been away for a while. No matter the changes or time away, it feels familiar. It's so easy to slip in to old routines...following the same routes on the streets, favourite stores...you get where I'm going with this right? It's almost like we never left.

So what do you call home? Is it where you're living currently? Is it where you grew up? Is it where the happiest memories live? I don't know. For me, maybe the world is "home". There may not be one pat place that keeps me forever, but wherever I am usually feels like home. I've used the word for hotel rooms, houses, apartments, residences of my family, and even an entire area can be considered home.

I find myself asking is THIS my home. I don't know. Maybe I have more than one home - maybe I have hundreds. I know that, for many people, this concept seems strange. The thought of leaving a place where they've lived most of their life is unimaginable. But for the wanderers out there, they know the feeling.Whatever I think of as home is ethereal and ever changing, but I know it when I feel it. I hope that your home is comfortable and happy and I welcome your thoughts on what truly makes a house a home.