home is where the heart is

One of my friends, Shirley, received a writing fellowship and is currently enjoying a temporary home. Another friend, Janet, recently wrote about her love affair with an island home. Marian downsized homes and moved across town. Sandi moved from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast.

Home. Unlike turtles, most of us don’t carry ours on our back:

For some it’s a geographic location… the place they were born, or grew up.
For others it might be a person. When my mother was alive, if I announced, “I’m flying home,” Len knew that meant I was going to visit my mom.
For many it’s a feeling—a safe place with emotional attachment that has less to do with the physical structure, and everything to do with positive, loving energy.
For some it is a specific, tangible structure.

What is home to you?

We arrived safe and sound in our new location — Boise, Idaho. Located in the southwest corner of the state, Boise is situated in the Mountain Time Zone and enjoys all four seasons without overdoing any of them — temperate.

We did our homework before choosing our new location, checking the crime rate, income tax, property tax, local/state government, history, cultural offerings, and outdoor adventures.

We leased our 100+ year old home — sight unseen — and landed right side up! We plan to take our time finding a home to purchase; thoroughly researching where we do/don’t want to live in the Boise area. In the photograph below, our little cottage is on the left of the two-dormer home.

In the short time we’ve been here, we’re already head-over-heels in love with the bicycle and dog intensive historic district where we currently reside. A stone’s throw from an off-leash dog park, yoga studio, library, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Boise State University — places that are important to us.

Within two days our house became a home. I define the difference as follows:

House — a structure.
Home — a safe place with emotional attachment; it has less to do with the physical structure, and everything to do with positive, loving energy.

If a house is a place to hang your hat, and home is where the heart is, where is your heart?

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"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

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