what does HOME mean to you?

A personal note.

You made it. We made it.

Let’s start this fresh, brand new year with a toast to weathering all that 2021 threw at us…good, bad, or sad…extraordinary, or beautifully ordinary…and coming out stronger and ready for a better 365 days ahead.

I had the unexpected opportunity to be back with my parents and siblings last month, and away from my little foursome family. Time away gave me a new perspective on what home really is:

Home is heart,

where and with whom I feel genuine love and care.

Home is an opportunity,

a safe open space for growth and encouragement to be me...as me.

Home is meaningful,

filled with emotion and memories that take me right back to when and where it happened.

Home is everywhere I feel good.

Sometimes it’s my actual house or a place in a city I lived in. Sometimes it’s outside with familiar sights or sitting on a friend’s sofa or video chatting with family far away. Whatever the space or scenario, it’s the combined feeling of belonging, purpose, and peace that makes it home to me.

Jennifer wearing white t-shirt saying, "home is where my heart is"

A sense of peace is something I’ve lost in the last few years. I know how to create calm in my surroundings, so I’m striving for that peace within myself in 2022 and beyond.