Something that my dad said to me on the
phone yesterday (in between my coughing, wheezing, and sneezing) really struck
me as odd: “I’m sorry. Being sick when
you’re away from home is the worst.” I
was confused for a moment. Am I not
home? To my dad, I am halfway across the
world in a foreign country with no comforts of “home.” It would make perfect sense to him (or to anyone
else) that while sick, I would suffer the worst of my homesickness. But honestly, the
past few days of being holed-up with my best friend (myself), lots of cold
medicine, and a complete season of fresh zombie shows has made me feel nothing
but home. Homehealthy, you might say. I
have made myself comfortable in my new city and settled into a happy routine
that I absolutely love. I get to speak
the beautiful Spanish language every day; live in my own cozy little nest;
teach children about the wonders of another world through language; and meet
passionate, (usually) kind, and interesting people everywhere I go. Lugo is my new home.
A long-distance friend recently told me,
“We don’t have to talk every week or keep up with every event in each other’s
lives; when we see each other again, we’ll continue our conversation where we
left off years ago.” This is the beauty
of traveling and embracing wanderlust.
Loved ones don’t cease to be loved.
The bond between dear friends doesn’t lose strength. By carrying all the love you’ve gathered in
your heart, home is always within you. Let
me touch on a few artists’ Ps of V about home, if you will. Edward Sharpe and
his crew believe that “home is wherever I’m with you” (assuming that “you” is someone
they love). Jack Johnson says, “Home is wherever we are if there’s love here
too.” And long ago, some crafty little lady
crocheted “home is where the heart is” and lives on through her legend of throw
pillows and pastel-colored wall-hangings. All of that together would be, “Home
is wherever I’m with your heart (if there’s love here)”…right?
My point is that home is simply your state
of mind. If you have an open, loving
attitude to your surroundings, a foreign place will soon become a happy
home. So forget about being homesick or unsatisfied
with your current situation. Carry love
with you everywhere you go so that you are at home anywhere in the world. Make friends with yourself. Love yourself. Offer love to your surroundings. For a wandering spirit to enjoy life wherever
it may find itself, it’s necessary to pack your beliefs and the people you love
in your heart. Don’t hold on to the past
and wish for old comforts—accent every new moment with the colors of home, with
the things that remind you of the love you carry with you. Let home be wherever your heart takes you. Happy home-hopping, my friends.
Love,
Cindy
P.S. All this being said, I am beyond excited to go to my original home next week to be with the most loving family on the planet. (Do you think I’m exaggerating? Just hang out with us for an evening of cooking, dancing, and enjoying life in our little kitchen and then tell me if I’m overstating the awesomeness that is the Mergens.) Holy Moly. See y’all in a week.
“Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my maw n paw…not the way that I do love you!”
