Home

Home is where the heart is. Where you lay your hat is your home. Home for the holidays. Home on the range. And in the immortal words of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."
It's been a week since I've been home. I was in the US for two months on long service leave, away from my work in Australia. It was a challenging and meaningful journey. Those who have experienced long haul flights can attest to the challenges of such a trip. For a number of reasons, I wasn't able to go home for nearly 5 years. It would be fair to say that I longed deeply for the place where I could be at rest...at peace...a member of my original family. If home is the place you can be yourself and people love you anyway- I wanted to be there.
Being home came with its challenges- I had to drive on the other side of the road, I had to figure out how to find things in grocery stores all over again, and in Oregon I had to let someone else pump the fuel into the car. But, being home also brought exactly what I longed for- a sense of peace, of belonging, of acceptance. A sense of being able to be myself and having people love me regardless.
I was able to be with people I hadn't seen for many, many years as well as family who had been to Perth over the last year. I also has the opportunity to meet new people, and make new friends going forward in the next chapter of my life. I was blessed by the love of people who have been and will always be a big part of my life and who I am.
And now I'm in my other home, where  it is currently 80F at night instead of snowing, and I consider myself lucky- to be able to to have the best of both homes.
Wherever you are tonight, I wish for you the peace and rest that comes from knowing where your home is- and that you can always return, whether that's in a place or in people, and hope that you experience that belonging and acceptance of being loved for who you are.