Home is....so many places...where ever my family is!
My Get-Pushed Challenge this week is to capture the "soul" of my hometown. This is a concept we have pondered for many years, having moved around so much. When people ask us where we are from, we don't really know how to answer that any more. But, the Army saying is, "Home is where the Army sends you!" goes along nicely with "Home is where the heart is!" So, as I couldn't narrow down a single hometown, I included some of the towns that have impacted our lives the most. All the pictures down the left side and the background are new for the challenge, but I included the older family pictures across the middle and some of my kitchen pictures (since the kitchen is the heart and soul of the home.
The background is Army digital camo, the fabric that house bound our lives together for 25 years, even though the camo pattern has changed many times over the years.
The top left corner is a pepperoni roll and below it is the West Virginia University Flying WV symbol, taking us back to our childhood and college where we met. And still 25 years later, on Saturdays in the fall, our blood runs blue and gold for the Mountaineers (with just a hint of the pepperoni rolls we consumed during the game). Below that is a colorful fall leaf. We had quite an adventure in New England last year and made many great friend in the process. In the bottom left corner is a German flag that was given to us when the two Germanies reunited in 1990. We spent the first 4 years of our married life there. This is where we first got the travel bug, wanderlust. In the center are two older family pictures I snapped. One from when my husband returned to us in Illinois from Afghanistan when our kids were little, and the other taken in Indiana before my husband left for Iraq this last time. I chose these because this shows the true heart and soul of our home. Where ever they are is home. The top right is the first house we bought in Illinois 20 years ago. We still own it and rent it out. All of our kids were born here, as we lived in this house for nearly 18 years. Below that is our next house we bought in Fishers, Indiana, after my husband returned from Iraq. Back together again as a family after 26 months separated, this is house became a special place to us. We also made lots of fabulous close friends here and still own this house as well. Below is a house that isn't ours, but was central to the great adventure we had last year. The bottom corner is our newest house in North Carolina where we are still unpacking and learning our way around.
I'm not sure if this is what Richard Sayer meant when he gave me this challenge, but it was the only way for an Army family to answer this challenge. Where am I from? All over. What is my address? Um, which one do you want? We've lived at house #7, house #12734 and #721 (and the house we rented was #1), so we couldn't help but think all these houses were meant to be ours. Hummm, wonder what the next one will be? I wonder how long we will live here?
@vignouse OK, here's my first attempt at this challenge. A complicated answer to a complicated question! LOL! I have one other idea I still want to try to do for this challenge.
Wow, Lisa - I guess I touched a cord with this! I'm a tadge embarassed at all the work you have put into answering my challenge... but boy was it worth it. This certainly answers the challenge in spades and tells a wonderful story of home and heart. You get a well deserved and heartfelt Fav.
PS: I understand about military life as my daughter is in the RAF and her partner is in an army infantry batallion.
Nice exhibition of kitchens ;) I understand what you wrote, we have moved quite a bit too, it has never been a problem for me neither : there's fantastic people to meet and fabulous things to discover everywhere ....we are now in Switzerland for 8years and I'm starting to get bored....
Great collage! It sounds so adventurous in many ways- but it's also not easy to move so often. But you have made it look easy! And once again I just have to say thanks to you and all the other military families for the sacrifices you make to ensure our freedom. I appreciate it more than I can say!
@joansmor@lynnilou@morrisphotos@tremerryn Thanks so much for the FAV @linnypinny@digitalrn@sangwann@paulam@kwind@pamknowler@mittens@amandal Thanks. @olivetreeann Thanks, we try to keep the adventurous spirit alive, so we don't wear ourselves out packing and unpacking! LOL @cocobella Hahaha! I have been there, too. We lived in one house for a very long time and my husband came and went, doing what he had to do. But, when we had lived there just 2 years, we started getting itchy feet. By year 5, the urge to move was very strong. Didn't really calm down until year 10. Then just as we got used to the idea of not moving, the Army moved us 3 times in 26 months. I'm ready for a long stretch of staying put for a while.
PS: I understand about military life as my daughter is in the RAF and her partner is in an army infantry batallion.
@linnypinny @digitalrn @sangwann @paulam @kwind @pamknowler @mittens @amandal Thanks.
@olivetreeann Thanks, we try to keep the adventurous spirit alive, so we don't wear ourselves out packing and unpacking! LOL
@cocobella Hahaha! I have been there, too. We lived in one house for a very long time and my husband came and went, doing what he had to do. But, when we had lived there just 2 years, we started getting itchy feet. By year 5, the urge to move was very strong. Didn't really calm down until year 10. Then just as we got used to the idea of not moving, the Army moved us 3 times in 26 months. I'm ready for a long stretch of staying put for a while.