It’s moving day. There’s a lot of anxiety behind that statement. I guess I’m about to find out what happens when you move back home….or at least when I move back home.
It’s such a weird feeling to be doing this, but at the same time, I’m so ready for the whole process to be finished. I’ve been living in chaos for the last couple of months, as we started packing up what we could, getting rid of what we didn’t want, and staring at those things we weren’t sure about. And now the wait is over and it’s happening!
While I pack and unpack and move things around, I thought I’d share some thoughts on home.
Joyce Carol Oats Goes Home Again – I’m not her biggest fan but I do enjoy some of her books especially Bellefleur. It’s a strange walk through the lives of a strange family. But this essay is not about the books she wrote, rather the place she thinks of when she thinks of home.
Going Home Again – is an overview of a TED talk that Sting gave on rekindling his creativity. Below is the TED Talk.
I hope you enjoyed this look at home.
I recently moved to a new place and discovered it was home. Everyone thought I was crazy to go for So Cal to a small town in middle America, but I love small town life.
It is all about what works best for you at that time.
Oh my goodness. As long as none of my kids read this and get ideas! N is for Nuggets and News as you Build a Better Blog. #AtoZchallenge.
I moved back to Maine (near the town where I grew up) in 2006, after 35 years away. It was like coming home in all the good ways, especially the sense of familiarity. And it took me those 35 years to fully appreciate the positives of small-town living (which I couldn’t wait to escape when I was 18).
I really feel for you. What you are doing and the reason you are doing it is a very emotional thing. I can really relate to how you described going through all your possessions – we have been doing the same thing, but in reverse because we are preparing for my parents to come to live in our home. Trying to sort long held possessions, no matter who they belong to is an arduous process. Here’s wishing all the best to you as you move back home and I look forward to reading about the experiences you have with it. I know from the 6 weeks I spent with my parents during a crisis recently that ‘going home’ is fraught with mixed emotions. Will be thinking of you.
Wow. I didn’t realize you were doing the same thing (in reverse.) It’s interesting because my mom immediately became used to the idea of Chris making her dinner. She called us while we were out to tell him she was ready for dinner. Oh well, I guess I do the same! Lol
That’s funny! Must be so lovely for her to have that security though. We aren’t quite there yet though – loads to do! Should have been done YEARS ago but hey ho – it is what it is and we are managing things as they are at the moment between us all.
And thanks for the Sting Ted Talk – just listened to the whole thing while getting ready for the day (courtesy of my waterproof speaker!). It’s amazing what coming back to our roots can do and I really enjoyed this.
Wow—talk about craziness!!
Or stress, or laughter??
Jodie
Right?
I haven’t lived in my hometown neck of the woods since 1984, but it will always be home to me. I used to go home a few times a years when my parents were living, but since they’ve been gone I haven’t been there in a while. I often wonder what it would be like to move back. Sometimes I think I am longing for a time in the past even more than a place from my past. I think the biggest thing that would keep me from moving back now would be the climate. I have completely lost my tolerance for cold winters!
You’re right about a time in the past. I look at different spots in the house and think about growing up and a life when my brother and sister were still alive.
Good luck with the move! I haven’t lived at home since I was 17, so I think it would be crazy if I tried to do it now. Then again, my childhood home has been sold, my folks are dead, so there really is nothing to go back to for me.
Maine is home now…
Lol, yeah if you tried to move back home you’d be arrested.
My husband and I considered moving back to the area where I grew up after my mother died so we would be closer to Dad and help take care of him. We seriously considered it, but didn’t follow through. I sometimes long for it in a visceral way but I know that I can’t go back to stay. A piece of my heart will always live there and sometimes I feel incomplete with parts of a vital organ stretched cross the miles. I’ll be interested in how it goes for you, Jennifer.
Hm, it’s somehow remarkable how you can’t move out soon enough when you’re young. The last thing you would want, is living with your mom , as you (think to) know everything already better 😉 and you want to be independent. Now, being older, I really could imagine living with my mommy and looking after her, she is 84 now and seeing her getting really old the last few years gives me sometimes a feeling of panic and sadness .. of ‘how much longer will she still be there’ … My mom is a darling , and so is my other half , but even that they know each other for almost 40 years , I am afraid one of them two would probably not survive this experience. They like eachother, they love and laugh … but under one roof?! Never in a million years would that work out well.
I never thought I’d ever move back home again. But this time it feels right.
I hope you settle (back) in okay!