Going Home

In the last week I have heard many comments about "going home".  I have heard the words in songs, in conversations, in newspaper articles......it must be a sign to write a blog about it as well.  My cousin and I had a conversation about driving past our old houses and either being elated that the house was well maintained or disappointed that it was no longer there.  Childhood homes have a great influence on our lives.  The childhood homes had that special memory of where we played under the willow tree, got locked in the barn, cared for our pony, raised sheep, walked beans, saw my first bull snake, learned to ride a bike, read books in the orchard trees, helped make root beer, used an outhouse, and sat next to a wood burning kitchen stove to keep warm. Those were good memories because family members were all alive, and  we worked and played together. It is where we learned ethics, responsibility, manners, and it made us who we are today.   That childhood home is "The House That Built Me".   As we leave our childhood homes and experience life, we sometimes get broken and lose our way..... life happens and interferes.  How many of us try to return to that childhood house to find the old self, recapture the security, or perhaps bury the trauma we experienced.

Miranda Lambert recorded the song, "The House That Built Me".  Her lyrics are an echo of our thoughts today:
"You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can.  I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am.  I thought if I could touch the place or feel it, this brokenness inside me might start healing.  Out here its like I'm someone else; I thought maybe I would find myself; If I could just come in I swear I'll leave... won't take nothing but a memory from the house that built me."

Do you feel you can go home again to the house that built you?  Share your feelings.