I spent years hating that saying. My self-possessed ex-husband had a T-shirt bearing that quote and Bob Marley's mug. I resented him every time he wore it. I was so jealous.
In college, I had to write a paper on Loren Eisley's essay, The Brown Wasps, linked below:
http://members.tripod.com/nature_writer/Naturalist/eiseley.htm
My mom had just died, and the idea of home haunted me. My home was where my mom was. I struggled for the next 16 years to create a home for myself, in marriage where I never really felt accepted being myself. I often felt like an alien species, living with my husband and sons. I blamed my femaleness, but I felt like a fish our of water with my female friends, too.
This summer, I got an apartment. While I was waiting for it, I moved in temporarily with my boyfriend, and I never really moved out. I live in both places, enjoying my time and role in both homes, feeling completely centered and at peace. I think I should feel transient, but I don't. I think the tshirt wouldn't bother me anymore. Maybe I'll get myself one.
Ruminating on this prompt, one song stayed with me, Simon and Garfunkel's Home:
Home, where my thoughts escape me,
Home, where the music's playing,
Home, where my love lies waiting silently for me.
Mama, I'm home.
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