The Romance of Home Sweet Home

Returning home after a brief trip away, I am struck by the beauty of familiar sounds: The creak in the children’s hallway (A warning bell, perhaps?); the rumbly hum of a bubbling kettle set to brew a cup for me to savor; the soft sigh of contentment gently heaved by my beloved husband at day’s end, paired with “I love this bed,” followed by a giggle from me. He’s been saying that for 24-1/2 years (though not with the exact same mattress, mind you!) – I still smile each time. How good it feels to rest in contentment.

Such enjoyment comes in planning a trip, counting the days, setting off (though I confess to waves of regret as I pack to go – I detest packing: choosing just a bit to be my all). And so I spread wings to fly from the nest for a spell beset with a tinge of anxiety -- almost changing my mind -- yet plunging ahead. As I depart the regrets melt away, the fears fold up and stow themselves, and the tingle of anticipation blooms with each mile of the journey from home/comfort/familiar toward new/exciting/adventurous.

While away from the home front I dash about tasting all the newness, drinking in the knowledge of life elsewhere. As we drive down a street of San Francisco crowded with row houses I gaze wistfully at the parfait-colored abodes and imagine a day immersed in the comings, goings, and greetings on this busy street. How delightful to mingle with neighbors while selecting greens for tonight’s salad from the corner grocer’s proffered produce. Or maybe I could be sipping a latte in the cool breeze as I wave at a passing preschooler attached to grandma’s hand on her way to play at the local “Tot Lot.” Whisking by, a business woman engrossed in a cell-phone conversation has no time to smile in response to my “Good morning!” yet her pertly coiffed pup wags a greeting as he scuttles past on a rhinestone-studded lead. Hmmmmm . . . my mind travels deeper into the friendliness found in one city block. All too soon the signal changes and we drive on and away from this little spot some call home.

I journey through a maze of wonderful new sights and sounds and aromas giving little thought to home and the familiar fragments found therein. Instead, I sample and taste and process all the new input with joyful abandon . . . until the sails turn for home. As I begin the ascent to the hills wherein my home nestles, my heart begins to beat with eagerness. Exiting the highway and twisting down the lane toward Wisteria Cottage brings a warm, face-flushing smile of delight. Home!

Sitting in my favorite chair, sipping lavender earl grey tea from my favorite tea cup whilst gazing out onto the sun-splashed meadows of my garden soothes my soul as I savor this moment of perfect peace.

Let us settle down in peace as a bird settles down in its nest,

Not wanting any other nest,

Not wondering why the wind blows our tree so fiercely sometimes,

Or why the sky is sometimes dark and the rain falls heavily.

~~ Amy Carmichael ~~
Whispers of His Power (p. 11)

In the days to come I will download pics, upload memory-laden prose, and reload my excitement toward a new peregrination. For today, however, I shall rest in the romance of home and the sweetness of the familiar found round my heart’s hearth.