I had always felt quite at home with myself, no matter the
location.
However, as a wife and mother spending some time alone at
university in France, I missed my home for the first time in my life.
I longed for the patter of feet and arguments to wake me up
in the morning and even the constant enquiries as to where such or such an
object was to be found would have been welcome.
Although distracted by friends and studies, I lacked my
reason for being. I had not yet built up
common traditions with my new community.
None of us conversed in our mother tongue, so perhaps we were frustrated
with our inability to express our feelings meaningfully. Our only insight into each other’s lives and
homes was by hearsay and imagination; no shared history.
Perhaps, given longer, we would have formed stronger bonds,
celebrated milestones or experienced common loss.
I realise that I felt no nostalgia for the material goods
and trappings of my house. It was the absence
of the essence of home which, to me, is family, friends and our way of
life. Home is where you are given unconditional
love, where there is the security of a support network developed over time;
your comfort zone.
My father's family; he was one of 11! My mother was one of 5 and I was one of 4 giving us an enormous family.
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Lovely homey H-Day post.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge FB page.
Wow! That is a big family. I can see why you would miss it, especially with language barriers.
ReplyDeleteI found your site. You posted on my blog from the A to Z.
Sunni
Home is such a wonderful place. And much more than a place where I keep my stuff.
ReplyDeleteHome is where the heart is. Lovely family photo!
ReplyDeleteI would love to leave in a different country. What an experience that most have been. Good and bad, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photograph. I've never been away from home like that, ever. I even went to our local University after my children started school. You were very brave.
ReplyDeleteRosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain
Home really is where the heart is! I'm at university now, fortunately I don't have the problem of language barriers but I still get homesick from time to time.
ReplyDeleteI always thought I had a big family, but wow! To be one of 11!
x
Absolutely, home is where the heart is. Makes me tingle when I think of home. Home to me, is when he is around and it's warm and the house has a nice feel to it.
ReplyDelete