"Home"

...is where the heart is. But isn't it possible for the heart to be more than one place at a time? I've always been told that home is where your family is. But what if your family consists of more than just the people who raised you? What if members of that family are elsewhere? What if you have been away and gained a circle of friends that carry the same supportive roles as a family? The word "home" is difficult for me to say. Home is where I am now, with fiance. Home is also where my parents and little sister are. As well as where my middle sister is while she is away at college. And home is where my friends are that have become like family while I was in college. That's at least four different homes. And some of those friends are elsewhere now too, making my "homes" even more diverse. So what is "home" exactly? It is a place that I have grown to love and feel sick for when away from it for too long. But is "home" really a place? Or is it just that we grow "peoplesick?" We miss those people that have become a "home" to us. Whenever I say that I'm "homesick," I never fully know which "home" I am sick for. I just have grown weary of the time away from the people that have always been and have also become my family. Even the "home" key on the keyboard makes me think about what exactly I am missing. That little key takes you back to the beginning of the line, like "home" is supposed to be where your beginning is. I barely remember that place that I began living. But I remember the people that taught me how to live. And every new member of my family circle has caused new beginnings for me. So I guess "home" is only a relative term that describes the feeling of warmth and comfort and support we get when surrounded by certain people that we consider family. And I believe that since my family is spread all over, my heart and my home are just as thoroughly scattered around the US (and bits of Ireland). Because I rarely get to see each member of my "family" and, therefore, my "home," I don't think the homesickness is going to be getting too much better any time soon.