Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Home is a who

I was born, grew up, went to school and left for university all without ever moving.  There was only ever one home for me, my parents' house in O'Connor township.  A few years after I moved away they moved to a new house and I went to visit them there for Christmas.  I wondered before I went if the new place would feel like home or if I would find it strange and unwelcoming.  What I found is that the building itself meant nothing.  Being with my parents was the same as always and the venue just didn't matter.  Even when I wandered by the old house a few years later the sense of home was completely absent; the place was suffused with memories and history but it was just a place I had lived, nothing more.

I noticed the same thing yesterday.  While I was away on my trip I greatly enjoyed myself and got to hang around with Hobo and play games, chat and reminisce but it always felt like there was a crack in the world... something was fundamentally wrong in a small way and I could not entirely be at ease.  When I walked in the door and saw Wendy there smiling at me that feeling simply melted away.  I like my condo, I like to have my own computer, to know that all my stuff is where I remember putting it and that I am master of my domain but those are just conveniences - in every way that matters Wendy is my home.  Home for me is not a where or a what but in fact a who.

It is good to be home.

7 comments:

  1. Well, this should definitely make dragging you off to Germany with me for a post-doc easier...

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  2. Your story today brought a tear to my eye. I still feel like the O'Connor house is home because I know every board, rock and fibre in the place intimately. Will this ever change?

    What's this about Germany? I hear they have great brats and beer.

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  3. Home is where the heart is.

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  4. Really nice stuff Sky. I felt very lucky that home came to paddle with me for two weeks while I was away.

    From a technical perspective, your best writing yet I think.

    My two favourite parts:
    "the place was suffused with memories and history"
    "it always felt like there was a crack in the world... "

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  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHEOF_rcND8
    Thoughts?

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  6. I liked that video a lot. It really captured the feel of crazy summer days and the endless possibilities of being young, not to mention the breathless madness of first love. It made me smile.

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