It's good to be home!

Many years ago I made my choice of what "home" is to me. Granted I did spend the majority of my life in California but have lived in 2 different countries and many different states across the USA. And yet, to me "home" is where ever my husband and children are be it in Maine, Texas, Virginia or South Dakota.

Being in my childhood home and sleeping in my old bedroom made me very aware how much I appreciate my own home. Heck if anything, it made my daughter appreciate what she has as well. There are the little comforts that we have learned to take for granted, such as soft cushy pillows, cuddly soft sheets and carpeted floors. My mom still uses bed sheets that she bought over 20 years ago, as you can guess they are 100% polyester and are as scratching as sandpaper. What makes me laugh is that my daughter said to me- "Mom we HAVE to treat Grandma to some new pillows and sheets for her guest room". I look at her and reply "So tell me how new bedsheets and pillows for the guest room is a treat for your Grandma? For a bed that she never sleeps in and is smaller than her own?" We both laughed at that one because we knew that it was a treat for us. Did I buy new sheets and pillows? You know I did! I had to replace the pillows that were thin as crackers and as hard as rocks- no one can get a decent nights rest in such conditions.

Funny thing about my old room...it still looks the same as it did for the past 10 years at least- in desperate need of being painted. Same items hanging on the walls, but at least there's a pillow top mattress for the bed now :-) There's no carpeting in my room (never has been) just the same tile flooring that has been there since my mom bought the place. And is that tile ever a cold shock on your bare feet in the morning! I located a rug and put in front of the bed in the guest room. Carpeting; another item very much taken for granted.

It was good to see my parents, but there's the heart ache of seeing them grow old. Of seeing my dad and how he's losing his battle with Alzheimer's. Of seeing my mom and wishing more for her. This ties in completely with my Erma Bombeck quote today. I know that I shouldn't feel guilty for the life I lead, but when I look at my parents and the way life is for them I do. My mom tells me of how proud she is of me and how I've become everything she's ever dreamed of for me. It makes me cry.

My mom is a woman with many strengths, who is stubborn but always giving. Who has many it through many difficult challenges in life with perseverance and her dignity intact. It's because of my mother that I am very much the person I am today.