Recently Josiah surprised me with the question, “Mom, when are we going to move to a new house? We have lived in his one for sooo lo-ng” (he whines in a Chinese accent). We have lived in our house now for about 4 months, which to be fair is longer than we stayed in any one place last year.
But his question was probing to me and resonated with something that I have been wrestling with this fall- home. Neither Jason or I (or Josiah for that matter) are homebodies. At all. We love to get out and nearly go crazy if we are inside too long. Since we sold our house and cars in LA over 6 years ago we intentionally have turned our back on the “American Dream” of bigger and better. A temporary mindset and small living quarters have kept us from investing much into “home”.
Also, being home with little ones is hard for me because I often feel like I am getting nothing done, in fact things seem to get “undone”. The natural course of events with a 2 and 4 years old is for things to go from order to disorder (sometimes at break neck speed). So home can feel like a place of never ending, ever- accumulating work. . . dishes, laundry, spills, smudges etc . . .
But lately I’ve been wanting more out of “home”. I desire home to be a place of rest. A place that nurtures creativity and loving relationships, where learning and lifelong habits are formed. I’m not really sure how to get to this place. I think it must have to to in part with letting go, and learning to relax, laugh and live in a home even when there are fingerprints on the sliding doors and crumbs on the floors. I also want to be more intentional about creating special memories that we share at home. If anyone has any thoughts I’d love to hear them, since we do not feel called to be nomads- in spite of Josiah’s itching to up and move. (:
Chilling at home this weekend in the kitchen by our new Christmas tree
5 comments:
I've lived in 19 houses in my 37 years, only the 19th with a husband and children. Each one was a very special home. The best memories of each place, neighborhood, schools, and friends still stay with me. I thought I should be envious of others who only lived in one childhood home, but I was not. My stories go on and on and my brother and I were blessed to be able to change, reconnect, and build plenty of memories and traditions and family habits anywhere we went. Isn't that the point of a good life? Even I, as an overseas friend, have remembered each home you've had on this journey this far and the wonderful stories about each one. Your family is quite fortunate, to see and interact and build roots everywhere, other than our fast-paced, techy world in a bubble over here. Keeping on keeping on, my friend.
(we used to draw the lines in the door jams of how tall we grew, and write important phone numbers down inside kitchen shelves of each house)
Thanks for the encouragement Shalimar and for sharing some of your "home" story. I'm not sure how many times home with change for us, but I do have a growth chart that moves since door jams don't (:
This is a test
ooo, I love the tree! Can't wait see it in person!
Christine, I love how you can express your thoughts and feelings so well! It's true, "home" is where your heart is. And, your heart is where your family is. Sooo, it's not the roots we place down in a place or structure, but the roots that grow deeply in a fammily wherever that may be. From my point of view, Christine, your children are at a great advantage in your re-locating!
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