How do you pick ONE if the HEART is in many?

A recent question, pondered by my favorite guy in his latest blog, has me thinking. One word - four easy letters - yet a definition so unclear and completely different from one person to the next.

HOME.

Where is it?

He makes a good point - that many times HOME is where you spent most of your years. A place where which you became a Man or Woman, learn life lessons and have fond memories. But, similar to the age-old question of "can you be in love with two people?" - can you have more than one "HOME"? After much thought - I've decided I have 4.

Iowa. The good ole' Midwest. A place where you can go running early in the morning, as the dew still glistens on the blades of bright green grass, and people who pass you by give you a friendly "hello" and a wave. A place where you can visit your old high school, walk the halls and receive warm smiles and even a hug from old teachers and a principal who are all still there. A place where the Panera on the corner of Collins Road and Council Street screams "eat here" and you know you can always count on your mom to come with you. A place where you spent a summer with one of your best friends - dancing at the Tycoon, drinking Martinis from a weird bartender down the street, watching movies in a home theater, laughing at Improv standup from Peter Fuzz and mixing popcorn and M&Ms. Iowa in itself isn't anything special - but the people there are - "Home is one's birthplace, ratified by memory."


HOME for me is Chicago. My favorite city in the U.S. (Gasp - "But it's so cold and windy in the winter there!"). A place where you still get the Midwestern friendliness and strangers offer helping hands. But a place with a bit more culture - more diversity - more of "not the same as everyone else". A place where I danced many nights under a chandelier at the Buddha Lounge. A place where Club 720 was open the FIRST time - and we were the center of attention until 4am. A place where I took art class, salsa class and painted pottery with a dear friend. But I think more so a place where I learned that it was okay to be ALONE - "No matter under what circumstances you leave it, home does not cease to be home. No matter how you lived there - well or poorly."

The Rocky Mountains of Colorado, with their snow capped tops and evergreen blanket, are HOME, too. A place I have traveled with friends, family and solo. A place where you can walk outside and hear absolutely nothing - except for the crunching of snow under your boots. A place where the crisp air and light, falling snow create this sense of peace that cannot be described - you just have to be there. A place where Bob Ross couldn't even do justice - where you are reminded how small you are in a world of so many other things. A place where we frequent Parrot Eyes and the Snake River Saloon - Christy's Sports and Gart - the Dam Brewery and the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. A place where hockey skates swirl around a big Xmas tree and a sleigh ride prompts good ole' country cooking in a cabin far away. It is here I yearn to go sometimes when I'm feeling a bit lost - "I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."

And finally...Arizona. A place where I moved with strong motivation. A place where I learned more in 2 years of school than I had before in one semester. A place where I was reminded of the importance of girlfriends - but also learned a valuable lesson regarding the importance of not forgetting the old. A place where McDonald's became my Monday tradition, I fell in love with Mystic spray tan, I learned 3 miles isn't that far to run - unless it is 120 degrees and that there is no place like downtown Scottsdale. A place where I learned the Elephant Bar cures all problems, Courtney Village was a pretty good deal and the fast lane is sometimes a little too fast. A place where I was humbled, learned self-sacrifice and will never forget those that picked me back up when I fell down. A place where I yearn to go back for the sunshine - but not just the kind that sends warm light from the sky - "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you."