"Home" For the Holidays
I think another key component of living a healthy live, both physically and mentally, is having a sense of "home." And home can manifest itself in many ways. It can be where we grew up, where we currently live, whether its in a house, apartment, or condo, it can be a state of mind and in most cases, its the place we go to at the end of the day.
When I was still working I couldn't wait to get home at the end of a long day and a long commute. Home for me was a nice house and yard, a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful children waiting. And a couple of cats! After dinner in the winter, I would crank up the fireplace, read the papers and the current book I had on the coffee table. And when we went away for the weekend or on a vacation, it was always good to get "home " especially after a long trip.
And maybe its that place we grew up. Where we live now is our current home, but there is always something special about that place we grew up in. I grew up in Harwich, on Cape Cod, and whether I was in college or married and living in other places, every time we went to the Cape and I crossed the bridge I was "home." And I still feel that way. Home here in Newburyport is great but there is always something special about crossing that bridge. I have that feeling every time. I was there last week and had that tingle when I crossed the Sagamore Bridge.
When I was a freshman at the University of Mass in Amherst back in 1964, I didn't come home until Thanksgiving. That was the longest I had ever been away. I was dropped off in front of the old high school. Our house was just a quarter mile away, so I wanted to walk that short distance and take it all in. When I got to the edge of our property, there was an old pine tree and a path that went across the field to the back door of our house. I had told my parents I would be home around 6pm and to have my dog Horton sitting on the back steps. I had a special whistle I used to always call Horton. When I got to that tree, I whistled. I didn't hear anything. I whistled again and then I heard the jingle of his dog tags, getting louder and louder. I whistled again and there he was! He recognized me and jumped about 4 feet in the air, like he was trying to give me a hug. Then he ran circles around me, barking and yelping. I patted him through moist eyes and we ran to the back door. Inside Dad, Mom, my 2 sisters and a nice home cooked meal of breaded pork chops was waiting. With Horton by my side, I walked in the back door. After a long two and a half months, little Frannie Larkin was "home" at last!
Wherever you are this holiday season, I hope you all are "home" for the holidays. And I hope you have the wonderful memories of "home" that I do. Happy holidays to everyone. Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time, FRAN
When I was still working I couldn't wait to get home at the end of a long day and a long commute. Home for me was a nice house and yard, a beautiful wife and 3 wonderful children waiting. And a couple of cats! After dinner in the winter, I would crank up the fireplace, read the papers and the current book I had on the coffee table. And when we went away for the weekend or on a vacation, it was always good to get "home " especially after a long trip.
And maybe its that place we grew up. Where we live now is our current home, but there is always something special about that place we grew up in. I grew up in Harwich, on Cape Cod, and whether I was in college or married and living in other places, every time we went to the Cape and I crossed the bridge I was "home." And I still feel that way. Home here in Newburyport is great but there is always something special about crossing that bridge. I have that feeling every time. I was there last week and had that tingle when I crossed the Sagamore Bridge.
When I was a freshman at the University of Mass in Amherst back in 1964, I didn't come home until Thanksgiving. That was the longest I had ever been away. I was dropped off in front of the old high school. Our house was just a quarter mile away, so I wanted to walk that short distance and take it all in. When I got to the edge of our property, there was an old pine tree and a path that went across the field to the back door of our house. I had told my parents I would be home around 6pm and to have my dog Horton sitting on the back steps. I had a special whistle I used to always call Horton. When I got to that tree, I whistled. I didn't hear anything. I whistled again and then I heard the jingle of his dog tags, getting louder and louder. I whistled again and there he was! He recognized me and jumped about 4 feet in the air, like he was trying to give me a hug. Then he ran circles around me, barking and yelping. I patted him through moist eyes and we ran to the back door. Inside Dad, Mom, my 2 sisters and a nice home cooked meal of breaded pork chops was waiting. With Horton by my side, I walked in the back door. After a long two and a half months, little Frannie Larkin was "home" at last!
Wherever you are this holiday season, I hope you all are "home" for the holidays. And I hope you have the wonderful memories of "home" that I do. Happy holidays to everyone. Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time, FRAN
posted by Fran Larkin at
8:41 AM
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