The Concept of Home

There are two things in my family that seem to be temporary situations: marriage and where you live. Something I continually struggle with, in my lighter and darker times, is the concept of home.What is it? Where is it? Where is mine? Why don't I feel like it applies to me?

Please understand that I 100% mean the abstract, conceptual meaning here. The place where you feel home instead of your physical habitat. Nor am I talking about the idea that home is where your heart is, because to quote Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog: "...Home is where your heart is/So your real  home's in your chest." I've never been one to share feelings. And while co-habitating with The Husband is great, I don't feel like I am "home" because he is there.

We moved around. A lot. Or at least a lot for the average family. Places I can remember living? 13. 14 if you count my semester of dorm living and 15 if you count my Aunt's house in San Diego where I spent most of my summers. There were 3 (I think) other places where we lived but I was too young to remember. Other than a trailer in New Hampshire, we didn't own any of the places where we lived. When you move around that much you learn not to become attached to the house/apartment/cottage/whatever where you lay your head. I have learned a lot moving around this much: Moving is terrible. Never fully unpack--you don't know when you'll have to pack it all up again. Always know where your empty boxes are or where to get some (working retail really helped here!). Use those 3M sticky hooks instead of nails so you don't have to fill holes later. Resepct the integrity of the place and clean the hell out of it when you leave to make sure your get that security deposit back. Learn to make do with the tiniest of kitchens.

That lack of attachment has always made me feel like I don't have a "home" to call my own. The nomadic instincts are still in me. I cruise craigslist all the time for apartments and condos and houses. Not that we are in a position where we could afford to move/rent/buy anything else right now, but there is a weird bit of hope that comes through when I comb through these ads. An idea of what could be. A buried need to feel the security of having both a home and a "home." To not fear the security deposit. To decorate and paint and create living spaces unabashedly. To throw a dinner party or any party really and not worry about the space. The freedom to do anything I chose in the privacy of something that is truly mine (well, ours). And to not worry about if there is lead paint in this old ass apartment if I become pregnant.

But "home" isn't just a home. It's where you are truly rooted. For some, their home country or the town they grew up in, etc. provides that feeling. I suppose, the closest I have is Gloucester. It's about as homey as I can muster. not a terrible place but there is much to be desired. Sometimes I wonder if going back to San Diego would be a better fit and make me feel more at "home". Unfortunately, I can't shake the feeling that, much like my father, "home" is Hawai'i. Beautiful, magical, mysterious, something that I feel a part of and is a part of me.

Maybe I am not destined to know. Perhaps I am meant to be nomadic, never truly rooted. I just often wonder what I am missing by having a home but never a "home."