I'll Be Home For Christmas

As I've been making the rounds of numerous holiday parties, I hear many people talk of "going home for Christmas."  What does that mean?  I thought they were already home!  Home can mean different things to different people.  Many people feel nostalgic at holiday time, and want to return to the family home, to the place they were raised, to their hometown.   They want to see parents and siblings and talk about past holidays and catch up with family that they are separated from.  They remember traditions that they want to carry on.  Others, like me, consider home to be wherever you are that you feel warm and safe and loved.  That might be on a camping trip with your husband and children, or in the living room of a small apartment with good friends, or in a new home with people who are important to you.  For me it's not so much where you are, but who you are with.  I've lived in San Diego for 11 years now, and I consider it home.  Yes, I love going back to LA to visit my mom in the house I grew up in, but that's not home anymore.  Home is in Carlsbad, with Ron and Pepper, and visits from family and friends.

I thoroughly understand people that want to get together with the whole family, reminisce about days gone by, share the season with them, and it's great that so many do that, and enjoy it.  I find home right here in Carlsbad.  Sure, I love to visit with family, but I find I have a better time when we are NOT all together at one time.  For me, it's a better experience spending time with one family at a time.  That's just me, and when I write it, it sounds like I'm anti holiday.  Not really.  I just enjoy mom, kids and grandkids in smaller groups,  I don't know if they would rather be all together, but I know I have a better time this way.  As for being anti holiday, maybe I am a little.  I have lived my life  with each day being a celebration, not waiting for a birthday, Mother's Day or Father's Day to tell someone I love them.  Hallmark and the toy companies created these holidays to increase their bottom line.  I like to enjoy life to the fullest each day.  Sorry I have digressed a bit, as I wanted to write about home.  Home is right here in Carlsbad, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.