Home is where...

As you all know, I moved away from Southern California last October and up to the Bay Area. I took all my belongings and memories along with me. I recall reading a post by Pastor Dan Lance that pretty much sums up the whole transitional period of feelings, thoughts, language, and completely resetting your internal compass to call a new place "home". There are many nights where I long to visit Riverside. Nights when all I need is a hug from someone special, a belly shaking laugh fest with a sibling around the dinner table, or a deep conversation over coffee with a longtime childhood friend. But home is where the heart longs to be, where you wish to lay your head down to sleep, where you don't feel out of place or lost. When I visit Riverside now, I don't feel like it's my home. It's where I grew up. It's where my family is. It's where many of my friends still reside. It's just not my home anymore. I still have a key to the front door of the house even thought I don't have a room to sleep in anymore. I know how to get around Riverside just fine, although I'm still learning some new routes in the city. I come down to see friends and family frequently enough that I'm able to keep up on the newest bar, restaurant or attraction. Home shouldn't instill a sense of pressure or force any unneccessary responsibility on one's self. Home should welcome you with big wide open arms regardless of where you've been or how long you've been gone. Home is where you have your mail sent, where your favorite shows are recorded on your DVR, and where your bed is. That's where home is.