Home Is Where They Love You

I recently purchased a cutesy sign that says, "home is where they love you." I love that. It offered a little justification to me that I can call Oklahoma home and North Carolina home because I am blessed to have people that love me in both places. I had some deep thoughts while traveling last weekend that I will spare the blog reader of for the most part but one thing I just keep tossing around is the hometown aspect that this move has had on our kids.

For example, even if I live in North Carolina for the next 60 years, my hometown will always be Claremore, Oklahoma- home of the red and white zebras. However, to my kids red and white zebras will sound insane. They will think that winding roads that change names 3 times are normal. They will also think every kid grows up in a neighborhood that is actually its own little town with a Chinese restaurant, doctors office, and frequent festivals. I love that. I love that they will not know what real wind is. However, they will know about high and low tide, a wide variety of trees, sea turtles, and a healthy dose of civil war history.

While I worry that because of the constant growth and change here they won't have such strong sentimental ties to a school mascot, they will have an ability to adapt and meet new people. Within 30 minutes of their "hometown" they can watch a pro football game, pan for gold, see a Nascar race, visit many museums and performing arts venues, attend a huge variety of concerts, eat and shop until their little hearts are content, and see the best display of spring and fall foliage anywhere in the US.

We live in a fantastic place to raise a family. This is a great hometown. Not that we wouldn't have been happy somewhere else- but clearly this is home.