There's something about being home that gives me a feeling like no other

The love, the safety, the familiarity

I know the grocery stores, post office, where the nice views are and where the sun rises best

I know the twists and turns of the roads, the secret places I would retreat to, the places of hurt and joy,

I trace the memories and smells and feelings

The real moments and the places of hope- the fields that held my careless wonder

and the weight of the things that I cannot seem to remember

It's like every time I am home I am living and sifting through the past and the present

They intersect and cross at times, but at others their paths are transparent and parallel

Revealing the similarities and differences of time so slowly I feel that I can physically reach out to touch them

My family is the main feature of what points the compass back to this place

This place that I know

Where they reside is where my heart is and first started to beat

They taught me so much of what I know and who I wanted to be

and I owe them everything

This safe haven has branched out to other locations as well

And I feel so blessed to find safety and love

Within

So many physically different locations

I used to think that this made me torn or never being able to be whole

That I was pulled in too many directions and I could not satisfy both of these locations

Was I greedy, was I enough, was I just confused?

As the years pass I realize that I am not made into two by falling in love with different places

But I am twice as happy, twice as lucky, and twice as grateful to find solace and belonging between the two

These roads and ideas are not this physical physical physical idea

they are everywhere and within and without of myself with the people I hold dearest

they flow through my being, my love, and my heart,

The places just represent what I know and who I can trust

They coddle my soul and nourish my growth and that is all I could ever ask for.

I am truly home at happiness, at love, at family, at friendship

In an embrace, in a smile, in a laugh and with support

I feel that I am home always- a phone call away- a hug close- not a day apart

knowing always

That love guides me wherever I must go but always roots me in where I am coming from

and where I have been

So I must return "home" often

Because I hear it calling

And I need to let it flow through me once again