home is wherever ...

I have a confession to make: I adore unbelievably cheesy films like Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (me and my mom watched this week and we both cried at the end) and Where the Heart Is ... they always get me thinking about the concept of home. 

home; noun, adjective, adverb, verb

the place in which one's domestic affections are centered -

deep; to the heart -

Home is where your history begins. Home is where they catch you when you fall. ("Where The Heart Is")

From the time I was born until the age of seven, I lived in an apartment building. The most familiar memories I have there are getting trapped in an elevator when I was four (my first most vivid memory of life), going over to my friends' apartment two doors down without my parents knowing and then having them assume that I ran away from home (the punishment was in the form of a heavy-duty spanking), getting a third-degree burn/scar from chicken noodle soup and going crazy in the jungle gym and swimming pool. 

Then, I moved from that apartment to the townhouse where I've lived ever since. Not a really long list there, is it? But I've found the word "home" can't be restricted to just one single definition of where you have lived and now live. For all the nomads, that would be quite a list. And for all those living away from their 'original' home, who's to say that where they are now isn't their own home, and that it deserves attention too? 

I place the meaning of 'home' into situations, into memories, into people, into locations where I just felt at home - comfortable, at ease, having the ability to be my complete weirdo self. Home doesn't have to be where your family is; and sometimes people who aren't related to you by blood can feel more ike a family than those who are actually related to you. Home doesn't have to be that little box-sized place you had to live in for a while in your twenties; home can be that park nearby that box-sized place that you loved to walk through everyday.

So here's a list of things that feel like home to me:

 01. Being with friends

In a way, we're homes for each other - we store memories, secrets, inside jokes. No matter where we happen to be, I always feel right at home when I'm with my closest friends.

 02. Being in his arms

Ah yes, cheesiness :) Even if he's pretending to drop me into a lake, whenever I'm in his arms I feel safe, loved. Just like natural disasters have an unfortunate tendency to destroy people's homes, sometimes I'm afraid that something will happen and I'll never get a chance to be in his arms again; but I try not to focus on that fear too much. (That analogy probably didn't come across too well, did it.)

 03. Surrounded by nature

If I see an insect anywhere near me, I will probably twitch like crazy and head in the opposite direction; but aside from that, I love the idea of plopping down on a blanket in the middle of a park with a picnic and just enjoying the greenery around me. I love sitting on a farm (with plenty of bug spray) and watching the sunset and the array of stars come out in the darkness. I feel this immediate calm that I sometimes can't get from my own 'real' home. {above picture from here}

 04. My actual house

Fortunately, my backyard has a beautiful garden that my mom has created over the years, and when I need a  moments' rest from the hecticness indoors, I come outside and just stare at all the prettiness. My home is madness sometimes, but there are the good moments - having an adorable dog that keeps us quiet since he gets scared when there's too many loud noises, having a TV that has ESPN on it so me and my father can bond over the Fifa World Cup (go Germany, England, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal! ... yes, I root for five teams), and a tiny kitchen where only one person can be at a time but where delicious meals are created.

 05. Poland 

It makes me sad to think that I've only really spent two weeks in the country my parents are from, the country where my entire extended family live (except for one of my uncles, but we don't really talk about him too much). But in those two weeks in 2008, where I met my grandma for the first time, where I met all my cousins for the first time, I felt this deep sense of home in places I had never seen before. The only reason I felt homesick on that trip is because it was a pain in the arse to translate everything from English to Polish; aside from that, it felt like home to me.

06. Reading (don't worry, I read more than Harry Potter)

 

I could be in the middle of nowhere, but if I see a passerby with a Harry Potter novel or see a novel in a passing store, I immediately feel at home. I grew up with these novels and you can call it Harry Pothead or whatever you'd like, but I have such a deep connection with them ... so much so, that I've read the first four books at least a dozen times each. My favourite one? The Prisoner of Azkaban, tru fax.

07. Whenever I'm on a road trip

Even when I'm in a moving vehicle ... yeah, it might sound extreme (or not), but if I'm in a car with people I genuinely like being with and heading out on some random adventure, I feel at home - a spontaneous kind of home where anything can happen, with tons of sights to be seen. I have a tendency to shout out "ROAD TRIP!" when we take an alternate route in our own city ... that's how much I love 'em.

 08. On the phone with my sister

Without stopping, it would take 1 day and 20 hours just to drive to where my sister lives now. But whenever she calls me up randomly just to chat or with a problemo, it feels like she's right there in the same city - especially when we talk for 1+ hours (I hope I'm not murdering your phone bill). She might not actually live with me, but she's my lovely, stylish piece of home that I cherish. Oh, and that above picture is also from Poland with my dad and grandmother joining in on my sudden obsession with European telephone booths.

 09. In bed / On the computer / Music
(note: I wish that^ was my bed, but unfortunately it's not; I don't even have own an iPod hehe. But if you want to see a room tour, it's perfect inspiration for me to clean up :D)

A three-way tie on this one, since I usually like to do all three of these activities at once, hehe. Even if it's a friends' house and they invite me to sit on their bed to chat and browse Youtube vids, I'll feel right at home. And even though the Internet is this huge place with a gazillion bajillion websites, I feel at home when I connect with people from across the world - and I can't wait for the day where I can meet at least a handul of you. Oh, and any place with good music playing is automatically home for me - especially if it's a guitar jam. {above picture from here}

10. Wherever I have a coffee

Yes, even on a city bus like the picture above (and yes, I am a loser who takes a picture of myself enjoying a coffee while sitting at the back of a city bus ... it was a long day). If I have a coffee with me, I'll immediately want to be in that location for at least twenty minutes longer than I usually would just to enjoy the yumminess.

So this was the sentimental version of things that feel like home to me and you know I have to ask: 

What does 'home' mean to you?

And what are your plans this weekend?

My plans are pretty weather-dependant and the best (not!) website, weathernetwork.ca, is reporting showers all weekend so if anything ... I'll be a blog-happy person this weekend. Hope you all have a great weekend! :)