There's No Place Like Home

I went to the movies today to see The Wizard Of Oz. No, not a remake. The original 1939 version in all its black and white then Technicolor blaze of glory. Saw it on a regular movie screen. It was pretty good that way. Noticed a few nuances I hadn't seen the few millions of times I'd watched it before on the little screen.

Maybe because I was with some women I hold most dear to me, that I pondered the tag line of the movie, "there's no place like home." Two of the women with whom I attended (my mother and sister) helped to define what "home" meant to me growing up. And indeed, home was almost always where they were. With me. And our two brothers and father and cats and assorted dogs and even turtles and birds. There was no other household like ours. I suppose it wasn't particularly unique in the small town in which we lived. But the assortment of characters within that house were unique as compared to what I witnessed in my friends houses. There was no place like that house on the corner to me.

Another woman in attendance to this movie with us, was the wife of what we have always considered another brother, if not a blood relation. He has been with our family in some fashion for almost as long as I can remember. This woman so seamlessly blends in with us and our relationship with her husband that she is like another sister to us. Same quirky sense of humor, same no nonsense caring for each other. Her presence brings a sense of home to me through her laughter and conversation. She is comfy and not demanding and, well, just like family.

The last young lady is my daughter. She represents the home my husband and I have made. She is my partner in laughter, in observation of life's injustices, in loving kindness and generosity...she is the part of my heart that walks around yet is tethered to me.

Home has changed for me over the years, but wherever these women are, that's where home will be. And indeed, there's no place like it.