Our Home is Where

If you've ever been in a long serving military family's home, chances are you will see a sign reading "Home is where...the army sends us!" with a list of all the different duty stations that family has been to. (We ourselves are under the ten year mark, so I don't think it's required yet!). I've found it funny that the beginning of that saying can be grammatically reworked to "Home is WHERE?!?!", which I know is probably a more accurate reaction!

Not our sign, but a good example!

I really got to thinking about where home really is for us on a recent trip to visit family, without my husband. Our two year old son, NJ, showed obvious signs of homesickness and asked several times to 'go home', even though he was enjoying himself. This became most interesting to me, since we had only moved to Arizona a few months prior. During that move, I wondered how he would adjust leaving the only house and hometown he had ever known. Would his two year old mind be able to grasp that we would not be returning 'home'? It turned out to be needless parent worry, because he didn't ask once to 'go home', in reference to Georgia. So, why the change now? Had he really become more attached to Arizona?  Or did his definition of home differ from mine?

Some of the scenery in Arizona

I think the later is true; home to him wasn't a building or location--it was where he is with Mommy and Daddy. This, of course, is a necessary perception for military families, since location changes every few years or twice in one year (as is the case for us)! I'm always amazed at how I am learning life lessons from a two year old! I know for our family, "Home is....where we are together". We are currently preparing to pack up all our worldly belongings, again, and move thousands of miles away to another country and culture, South Korea. But with this perspective, no matter where we go as long as it is together, it will be home. My job title for the past couple of years has been 'homemaker'. To some it might seem old fashioned, but for me it's a role I take very seriously. It is in my job description to give my family a feeling of home wherever we go!

I hope you will follow us and our adventures as we travel, move and explore! I know our communication with those in The States might be more limited, but I'm hoping this blog can be a resource for keeping in touch.
Take Care.