Coming Home . . .

In the past year I have learned so many things about home. While I was in high school I would have said that Aurora with my family is my home absolutely 100%. Now I have a little bit of a different perspective.
I live in London throughout the year as that is where I'm studying for my undergraduate degree. When I lived in residence last year, as much as I may have hated it at certain moments, it did become a home for me. This year Paperbirch gets to claim that honor.
Over the past summer, I didn't come back to Aurora to live with my family, but chose to make a home at L'arche Daybreak which is so much more than a home for me. That is a place of love and acceptance that you will never find anywhere else. When I think of what I left when I returned to school in September, tears usually begin to form in my eyes.
Now, home is less of a place and more of a feeling. A place where I can feel safe and create intimacy with those around me. It's a place where laughter and love are never in short supply, food is always plentiful and comfort is always available.
I read this quote somewhere and it really sums up what I think a home is. This is what we've created together and I'm thankful every day for all the homes that I am blessed to a part of.
"A house is made with wood and beams. A home is made with love and dreams."