What is a home?

A home is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as one’s place of dwelling. I disagree. A house is one’s place of dwelling. A house is a couple of walls and rooms where you spend your time. A home is much more than a place to waste away, waiting for something interesting to happen in your life. A home means something different to every person.

What is a home?

A home is a blessing.

I have been blessed with a home in a way many people have not. They may never have had a place to call “home.” They may never know what it feels like to have a roof firmly above their head and a clean floor beneath their feet. They may never know the feeling of collapsing on their bed after a long day. They may never know the comfort of shutting themselves away from the world after school or work. They may never know the sadness of one day moving away from their childhood home.

What is a home?

A home is your traditions.

For me, it is dressing my dog up in funny Halloween costumes that she despises. It is the day after Thanksgiving when I come downstairs and see my mom putting up the Christmas tree while watching Good Morning America. It is the kitchen where my family hosts Christmas brunch every year. It is the Easter egg hunt with the plastic eggs that my family has used since I was five. It is the family dinner in the dining room every Sunday.

What is a home?

A home is your memories.

For me, it is playing “don’t touch the carpet” while my parents yell at my brother and me for jumping on the furniture. It is the cereal dinners in front of the TV when my dad went out of town. It is the cardboard box fort my dad made for my brother and me in the basement many years ago. It is all the birthdays celebrated. It is the delicious mess I made on my face and the counter when I helped make brownies. It is the cold winter days spent playing out in the snow and coming into the warmth, cheeks as pink as my favorite shirt from when I was seven. It is falling asleep with a book collapsed on my face like a tent. It is setting up the slip ‘n slide on a smoldering summer day. It is listening to rain pelt the roof.

You are a compilation of blessings, traditions, and memories. So again I ask, what is a home?

A home is you.