A - Z 2021: Home is where your Heart is



Welcome back to A - Z 2021. Yesterday we found out that all that glistens is not Gold.


H is for 

Home is where your Heart is 

As part of our high school reunion a few years ago, we took a guided tour of the year round "Home" exhibition that was taking place at our town. 




A special highlight was the Ferris Wheel ride during which passengers were supposed to ask each other questions (check out this website, it's in English) regarding their "home":

  1. What does it feel / taste / smell / sound like?
  2. Does it require tradition?
  3. Is it possible to find a new one?
Of course due to the fact that some of us  - even though this was the fifth time we met since graduation - haven't seen each other for as long as 20+ years, we had a lot of catching up to do and didn't stick to the questions, but I'd like to do so here, and I encourage you to answer them for yourself as well:

I consider Switzerland my home. I was born and raised here, and apart from the too short period I spent in California, I have always lived either in my childhood village, Staufen, or Colin's hockey town, Zug.

Home certainly feels cozy, reliable, familiar, and family and friends play an important part. So much so that after 9/11 I wanted nothing more than to go home - to the people I have known and loved my whole life. With some of them I attended pre-school, Kindergarten, elementary school, high school, even the same college! They knew me when I had braces, crazy hair and questionable outfits - we literally grew up together.

Many said "home is where my heart is", and I think they're totally right. Some of my classmates live in UK, Germany, Italy and Spain today, but they all made it because spending a couple of hours with their old classmates was important to them. Only the one who lives in Australia couldn't make it, and I can't blame her. 

Does home has a smell? I would like to think that Switzerland smells crisp (alpine and all, never mind the crowded cities) with a hint of cow sh** and of course a delicious whim of chocolate - due to the Frey chocolate factory being located only five miles from here! 

Home-home, my parent's home smelled at its best after baking. Think apple pie, chocolate cake or Grittibänze.

Switzerland has certainly a few unique sounds like cow bells and church bells. Our emergency vehicles' sirens sound differently than in the U.S.

Does it require tradition? I guess home is an accumulation of tradition. My friend Annette who moved to Canada in 2013 misses our recurring customs like the youth festival and the turnip parade the most. Tradition, in combination with the people you meet on occasion of  these festivities, certainly contribute to the homey feeling. 

Is it possible to find a new home? To me this is the toughest question. I think whatever new home you make (and it takes a whole lot of positive attitude and hard work), you'll probably always compare it to your first, real home. But personally I do believe that you can find a new home someplace else. Because, after all, home is where your heart is! 

On the other hand, there's no place like home! Home being where your roots are. I sure felt that way when I returned to Switzerland on account of 9/11 




Now - you knew this was coming, right?

What does home mean to you? What does it feel like, is it possible to find a new home? What does it take? 

Let me know in the comments down below. Please don't forget to include the link to your post so I can immediately return your visit!

Tomorrow we will strike the iron as long as it's hot. Don't miss out!

PS: If you're confused because you came here for "Secret Subject Swap" - head over to my post Quick & dirty vs do it right.



Comments

  1. Home is were your heart is, I totally agree! I love my country (France), because it's where my family is, I like the social security and of course wine and cheese ;)) But I can live everywhere, as long as I'm with my loved one. We lived several years in French Polynesia, nearly 1 year in Hawaii, 3 years in British Columbia, Canada, 6 months in US and 3 months in Alsaka (yes I know, it's US, Hawaii too!). I could have stay and live in all these places without any problems if it was only me (well, Alaska is a little too cold for me!). Now we are back to France, and I'm ok with that ;)
    Quilting Patchwork & Appliqué

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  2. Excellent post. New York City has been my adult home - a place I wanted to move to since my early teens. But having spent sex years on a farm (early childhood) and my teens in upstate New York, I carry those areas in my heart. Hence my focus on my early teens in this year’s A to Z. https://mollyscanopy.com/2021/04/halloween-hijinks-teen-version-atozchallenge/

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  3. I grew up in India but my childhood and adoloscence were in two different states ...My college was a state in North India ...It has been more than a decade in Singapore...I would say home is where we are with family....be it our residence or a hotel room on a vacation....Home is were the heart is!

    https://pagesfromjayashree.blogspot.com/2021/04/headless-and-more-heads.html

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  4. I agree that home is where the heart is. My children have made their homes far away and I so wish to visit them in their home once the pandemic allows me to travel again. I have a plaque in my kitchen my aunt gave me. It says "My home is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy. " Lol - my aunt knew me well.

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  5. This is a difficult one for me as I feel I have two homes. Australia will always be home, but wherever Ken is, is my real home. Australia feels familiar and I have so much history there, but Ken feels like peace, comfort, and love, and we've created our own history.

    I think what helps is that even though I have so many friends in Australia, none of them are in one place anymore, and as you know, it's a very big country, so it's not really one place I think of now, more the country as a whole.

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  6. Home is where I feel content, safe and at peace. At the end of a long day, when I'm in my bedroom winding down with a glass of wine or cup of tea, I'll often take a moment to look around and a wave of happiness comes over me. While I adore Maine (and named my blog after it) and wouldn't want to be away from my friends and family, I do think home is an emotional state and can ultimately be found anywhere. Although, my friend who has lived on the west coast for more than twenty years still answers Maine when people ask her where home is so maybe not ;)

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  7. I have only lived in one city almost my whole life, except for a few years in the towns to the right and left of us so for me this will always be home.

    Janet’s Smiles

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  8. It totally is. And it's possible to have more than one home. My heart is my home with the Hub and Barbarians, but when I go to my parents home I still feel it's home as well (although I never lived in the house they live in now).

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