Making "Home"

What is home ?

Is it the walls covered in picture frames? In handprints? In ball marks?

Is it the warm smell of your mom's apple pie on a chilly Autumn Saturday morning?

Is it the sibling banter that echoes through the halls?

Is it the traditions? The disney movie nights? The summer trips to visit family? The birthday parties? The football games? The Sunday dinner conversation? The late night giggles?

Is it that favorite blanket you claim as "yours" and snuggle up with in your favorite chair?

Is it the talks you have on your bed with a parent-- the ones when tears are shed, words are spoken, and love is grown?

Is it the grocery store that takes exactly 8 minutes to walk to? Is it that beaten down charcoal SUV that's been running for years and falling apart everyday? Is it that cracked tile on the corner of the kitchen counter? Is it that last step on the stairs that you always skip? Is it the town? The walls? The house? The tree in the backyard?

Whatever it is, it has to be made, created, formed. "Home" takes work. It takes time. It takes people.

About two months ago, I married my best friend. And now, my life is completely different than it ever has been.

And while it is beautiful and new and exciting, it can be hard at times, too.

It can be hard to switch to playing "mother" and "wife" when you're used to playing "daughter" and "sister." It can be difficult to switch from calling Mom and Dad's familiar house, filled with food, people, comfort, and years of memories,"home," to calling this itty bitty apartment with bare walls and empty cupboards, "home."

I know. It's hard. But it's also worth it. It's necessary. It's a wonderful change in life.

So, this is for all the people who are growing up; the people who have moved forward, made changes, and embraced the future. It's not easy to let go of the past that is so warm and friendly to face a future that, at times, can seem scary and unknown. But it is possible. And, I believe, it is necessary in building your own family with that beautiful, wonderful man who is changing your life forever.

This is all about my experiences:

my trials and errors, my ups and downs,

my projects and my crafts,

my experiments, my attempts, 

my lessons-learned, my blessings-counted, 

my one-step-at-a-time journey of  m a k i n g "h o m e."