Tag: home

Pinewood Acres, Sunset Terrace, New Street, Pearson’s Corner, Sunset Terrace again, Main Street, Cannon Mills, Chapelcroft, Sheafe Court, Redmill. I have had many homes – two mobile, two apartments, one had my name on the mortgage and one was just a rented room. I felt at home in all of them, though I never felt attached to the physical buildings. I think it is true that home is where the heart is – the place itself doesn’t matter much.

The only thing I remember about my first home is that there was a playground in the neighborhood with one red swing and one blue swing. My next home was close enough to the elementary school that I walked there and back in second grade. The longest I spent in a home were the 10 years my family lived on a farm (it wasn’t our farm, but we rented a little land for our mobile home). Then there was the year I lived with my grandparents. After that, I moved back in with my dad and sister to a new home where my room was also the laundry room and guest bathroom. I really liked that one, though.

From there, I moved in with my husband. I was proud of our first apartment, mostly because it felt good to be “on our own.” It only had one bathroom, though, which was the. worst. Moving had always been easy because as a kid, I didn’t have much stuff. I wasn’t responsible for any of the logistics. I enjoyed arranging my things in their new spaces. Since neither my husband nor I had furniture, moving in together was easy too. We picked out furniture together and had it delivered. Despite having moved several times, it wasn’t until I was 25 years old that I learned how to pack.

I loved that we bought a house with “potential,” but the timing wasn’t great. We had to be out of our apartment the day after we signed the paperwork for the house. We didn’t have time to paint over the yellow or purple walls. We didn’t have time to redo any of the mismatched floors. After everything was moved in though, I didn’t care that much. It was our first house!

I like the newness of moving, the purging of old things, the preparation of new spaces. I like deciding where to put what, and then rearranging it all three times before I get it just right.  I like making rooms feel a certain way, warm and welcoming. That, to me, is more important than the building itself. The mobile homes, the one bedroom apartment, the three bedroom house were all home to me.

Houses that I never lived in have been home to me. Houses I haven’t seen yet will be home to me, too.

❤ JK