Happy Father's Day! Today I spent a good portion of the day with my wonderful dad. There something really special about going home and being with my parents and my sister. It's odd because technically, it's hard to call it "home" because I no longer live there. Of course, to me and I'm sure to my parents, it will always be my home. I know that if anything were to happen between Dave and me where we would need to take some time apart I would be welcomed back with open arms. It's just strange. I've been in this apartment for two years now and this year I was officially added to the lease so the house I grew up in isn't technically where I would now call home but it still feels that way.
I wonder if my father ever really got over it. His mother, my Nana, still lives in the same house he grew up in. He lived in that house his entire life and as kids we used to visit. He would tell us which room was his and try to convey probably what I'm feeling now but as a small child I just didn't get it. In my mind, my father's home was my home not my Nana's. My childish brain couldn't quite comprehend that he had any other home than the one that he lived in with us. Like my dad, we never moved from the house I was brought home to a couple of days after I was born so I think that doesn't help with that weird feeling.
Regardless, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the whole concept of "home." There are times that I think about Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and how badly she fought for her home in Tara. In the novel, Scarlett's father tells her, "Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything...for 'tis the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for--worth dying for." This same sentiment is repeated throughout the story but I really couldn't disagree more. "Home" has absolutely nothing to do with the land and everything to do with the heart. My home is wherever Dave or my parents are. I will forever have two homes. Mine own with my future husband and my childhood home and neither have anything to do with living location. If my parents were to move to California, I'd still say I was going "home" when going to visit them despite having never been there for a second. My parents are not only my family but my home. Without my parents, the house I grew up in would be just that. A house. As soon as my parents leave and some stranger owns it, it will no longer be "mine" in any sense. It will be where I grew up but nothing more.
Of course, Gone with the Wind is all about the dismantling of plantations like Scarlett's Tara. If some stranger tried to steal my house just because they are currently winning the war, I very well may fight for it with my life. However, that's a different thing entirely. For me, I think the most important part of my life is my family. I've been extremely lucky to be blessed with two amazing parents, a wonderful sister, and the most amazing fiance. My sister's boyfriend who I'm almost certain will soon be her fiance is part of my family now as well. Dave's mother, his brother, and his brother's wife are my future in-laws and therefore new members of my family. Of course, if I were to be entirely honest... there are a couple of friends who I would also consider to be "family" for something like family isn't bound only with blood or marriage. The close friends of mine and Dave's (they know who they are) would also be in that category. They mean the world to me and they are my everything. I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am and I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for it.
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