That Little Voice

Home is where the heart is. But what if you have several homes, or spots that call to your heart?

I’ve had several residences, but to be called ‘home’ has depended on the people in my life at the time, the memories I formed there, and if I want to ever return.

Truthfully, there are some places I lived that I called home at the time, but the mere thought of returning or revisiting isn’t on my bucket list of repeats.

Most of those past houses do conjure up some memories, both good and ‘want to forget’ ones.

As a young bride we lived in an upstairs apartment in North Chicago, with a landlady who inspected our ‘home’ daily. She discovered I was using a mop to clean the kitchen floor and informed me that I needed to scrub the floor by hand…mops were not good enough. That ‘home’ doesn’t rank in my top 100 places to live, since we vacated the place in short order. Who doesn’t use a mop, for goodness sake?

I can’t even remember most of the apartments I occupied as a single apartment manager in Dallas. I worked for a company that owned multiple complexes, and I was the one designated to go in and ‘clean up’ a property; meaning if the occupancy numbers were low, the police were on a first name basis with the occupants because of the weekly disturbance calls received, or the place needed a make over in some way, there I would go.

Some of those experiences were wonderful, some not so wonderful, and some way below the definition of awful.

Since leaving that career, I’ve erased most of those memories from my cluttered remembrance closet.

Now that I think about it, my favorite ‘homes’ have been in places where I enjoyed my work.

For instance, I loved my career in La Grange running the Chamber of Commerce. Not only did I cherish the house we lived in, I loved my husband and sharing that space with him, I treasured the people who made each day worthwhile and brought laughter and joy into my life, and I loved the old jail, the chamber’s home for the years I was there. That building was indeed my work home that remains permanently lodged in my heart. I hope those working there now feel the same connection I do to that structure.

Those years, during and after my work in LG, were satisfying to my soul, comforting me during the ups and downs we each experience in our life’s journey.

And my current residence in San Miguel is a place of love, comfort, and peace. It is my home today, and I’m filling it with memories I will long remember.

Well, ‘long’ is a relative word. At 79, who knows what ‘long’ may mean?