When I was growing up, we had a similar situation. We had a very small house. There were 5 of us under one roof with only one bathroom. Very small indeed when you're talking about 2 teenagers, 2 adults and one small child. My sister and I shared a room, so there was no escaping her. We didn't have a family room...just one living room, so we were all in the same place at the same time, much of the time. We were pretty jammed in that house.
The wonderful part about it? We were happy (well, most of the time). We liked spending time together (most of the time!) My parents enjoyed taking us places and because of our tiny house, we weren't 'house poor', which meant we got to go on vacations every summer to the ocean or to Disney World. Sometimes, they would even call us inside when we were out playing and say, "Get ready to go!" and we would take off for the mall, out to dinner, or even on an impromptu trip to Niagra Falls. Good times.
When I went away to college, I met many interesting new friends who came from different backgrounds. I went home with a friend one weekend. Her house was huge. To me, it was like an estate. HUGE. I invited her home to my house to reciprocate. I was a bit nervous because my house didn't even come close to being like hers. We got to my house and my mom met us at the door. My friend took a deep breath, hugged my mom, and said, "Now THIS is home!" That just made me feel all warm inside...yes...that WAS home!
As a grown-up, I realize it isn't the house that makes it a home, it's the people inside. We always felt safe and warm and we were well taken care of and loved. There are times when I feel 'homesick', but I know it isn't for an actual place (because that place is long gone), but it's for a time when things were easier and worries didn't seem to exist.
7 comments:
What an absolutely awesome memory, Dawn! Made me feel all warm inside. And, today, it's pretty danged cold in Jersey :) Thank you SO MUCH for sharing
But Dawn, you were never there! You were always over at "camp".... :-P
Aw, I love this one!
Great post! :)
It makes me happy when people had that type of experience growing up....I had to find that kind of feeling as I paved along the way...great post!
LOL, Brother Sam!
Dawn, I LOVE this blog post. Our house was the best and all because of the people who lived in it. BTW, I forgive you for always trying to use hair elastics to "lock" me out of OUR room! ; )
I hope that my girls feel the same warm and safe feelings that we had growing up.
I love you!
@Sam...HAHA....you WISH I was never there! ;) btw, there were hot guys at 'camp' most of the time. ;)
@Liz, thanks so much for the lovely comment. xoxo
@Pam, I know that you had a not so great homelife growing up. You would have been so welcome in our home! love you!
@Betsy and Melisa, thanks so much!
@Margie...I love you, sis! I'm sorry for all of the mean things I've ever done to you! xoxo
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