Home is the place you come from, the place you "hang your hat", the place where your family is, or maybe it's where you keep your favorite books. I was thinking about home this weekend since it was Christmas and I am "home". Well I'm at my parent's house which was home for me for a lot of years but now it isn't as much. Part of growing up is shifting from your childhood home becoming your parent's house with things the way they want them and you having another place that is your own. But since I'm with family in a familiar place in some ways it is "home". Yet I'm also torn because I've come to feel "at home" in Malawi - not just another city but another country and continent with another culture. My roommate and coworkers at Malamulo have become family and I feel at home there. This year even some of my "real" family is there and so that might be part of the reason I feel torn... It made me think more about the meaning of home, I guess and what it actually means.
I believe that when you go through challenging times with a friend or with anyone you become bonded to that person in a deeper way. I think that is part of the reason I feel close to the people I live and work with in Malawi because we have been through SO MUCH together. I think specifically of Cristy - we have lived together for the past 2.5 years and have been through highs and lows and every days and all in between together. She is the closest friend I have and knows me very well and feels like family. For me our house in Malawi feels like "home" and I think it does for her as well.
Maybe the holidays bring out this kind of reflection and the meaning of "home". I guess for me there is more than one place and maybe more than one meaning. Home is where I feel the most comfortable and where I can be myself the most....AND i think my favorite books might also play a part. :) I'm thankful for these safe and comfortable places that are a shelter and haven for me in so many ways.
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