Tanja, I've been terribly remiss, sorry - I've been reading but not commenting for ages. Twenty two time though!! That's not on, must have been unimaginably difficult for you. I've been very lucky. My mum stayed in the house I was born in until about two years ago! I also have a home offshore, and that moves around, bit I really appreciate staying on a project for a while and making friends. There may not be "forever" homes in real life, but I hope you find something close enough.
Tanja - what a great post and wonderful quotes that you have shared. What a challenging upbringing you had - 22 moves but interesting that England somehow felt like home. I wonder if it still does? For me, as I thought about it, the fact that I have a family who came to the farm where we live in 1872, is a key story of what home is - there is something about the land itself and has a sense of history and previous generations. Home should be a place of rest but often when there are difficult relationships, it can be a place of trauma and conflict. The great saying "Home is where the heart is" has long been part of my understanding and I did a little research to find out its origin. Here is what I found:
"The earliest occurrence of this phrase that I have found is from an unsigned poem published in the 1829 issue of The Winter’s Wreath: A Collection of Original Contributions in Prose and Verse (London: Published by George B. Whittaker; for George Smith, Liverpool – [October 1828])"
Thank you for that beautiful poem, Reuben. Another one for my collection.
I am not sure I would describe my upbringing as challenging, it was just different I suppose. Perhaps I don’t have deep roots in one place but shallow ones in many places.
Tanja, I've been terribly remiss, sorry - I've been reading but not commenting for ages. Twenty two time though!! That's not on, must have been unimaginably difficult for you. I've been very lucky. My mum stayed in the house I was born in until about two years ago! I also have a home offshore, and that moves around, bit I really appreciate staying on a project for a while and making friends. There may not be "forever" homes in real life, but I hope you find something close enough.
No worries, Jon, I always appreciate any feedback and I know you have a busy schedule. So thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement.
Tanja - what a great post and wonderful quotes that you have shared. What a challenging upbringing you had - 22 moves but interesting that England somehow felt like home. I wonder if it still does? For me, as I thought about it, the fact that I have a family who came to the farm where we live in 1872, is a key story of what home is - there is something about the land itself and has a sense of history and previous generations. Home should be a place of rest but often when there are difficult relationships, it can be a place of trauma and conflict. The great saying "Home is where the heart is" has long been part of my understanding and I did a little research to find out its origin. Here is what I found:
https://wordhistories.net/2021/08/24/home-where-heart/
"The earliest occurrence of this phrase that I have found is from an unsigned poem published in the 1829 issue of The Winter’s Wreath: A Collection of Original Contributions in Prose and Verse (London: Published by George B. Whittaker; for George Smith, Liverpool – [October 1828])"
The poem is quite lovely:
"’Tis Home where’er the Heart is.
’Tis Home where’er the heart is;
Where’er its loved ones dwell,
In cities or in cottages,
Thronged haunts or mossy dell:
The heart’s a rover ever,
And thus on wave and wild,
The maiden with her lover walks,
The mother with her child.
’Tis bright where’er the heart is;
Its fairy spells can bring
Fresh fountains to the wilderness,
And to the desert—spring.
There are green isles in each ocean,
O’er which affection glides;
And a haven on each shore,
When Love’s the star that guides.
’Tis free where’er the heart is;
Nor chains, nor dungeon dim,
May check the mind’s aspirings,
The spirit’s pealing hymn!
The heart gives life its beauty,
Its glory and its power,—
’Tis sunlight to its rippling stream,
And soft dew to its flower."
Thank you for that beautiful poem, Reuben. Another one for my collection.
I am not sure I would describe my upbringing as challenging, it was just different I suppose. Perhaps I don’t have deep roots in one place but shallow ones in many places.