All Hands On Deck   Adventures on land and at sea

Is home a place, a thing, or a state of mind?

View from Mom’s house on a clear and frosty New Year’s eve morning.

        I say it’s at least one but as many as all three of the above. I only came to this conclusion after spending all of yesterday deep in thought. Long, cross country flights are perfect for pondering weighty subjects.
        Lee and I spent almost two weeks at my mom’s new house in Seattle. Even though I’d never seen it before or spent more than a day in Seattle before this trip, I was home. My mom’s home will always be one of my homes. The boat, or whatever space I share with Lee, is my other home. The way I see it, that means I have person and thing homes. It’s the home place where I’m adrift, literally.
        I don’t miss California. I have no problem with my mom moving away from where I grew up. That hasn’t been my home for a long time. Colorado was nice. I did like having my own apartment but I was lonely there until I met Lee. We set up out own place with the boat in Rhode island. That was only temporary. We moved on. Maine was comforting, but again, temporary. Now Lee and I move every few days. We experience new places more often than we typically change our socks.
        I enjoy this lifestyle. I have my person (Lee) and my thing (the boat). Together, we are exploring. Still, I can’t help but feel displaced – like I’m drifting somewhere between leaving and arriving. It’s a difficult feeling to explain and Lee has trouble understanding it. Will we ever stumble into a place where we feel right or can I be content with person and thing? I know it shouldn’t matter where we are as long as we’re together but a base of operations would be nice. There are so many things I want to do…

Pepper on the jelly cabinet.

        Sorry. Christmas was nice. Wonderful. Seattle was as cold and wet as anyone could want and my mom’s new house was cozy with cheer. Pepper and Jack (the cats) were their usual goofy selves. Lee and I ran in the Arboretum and slept in my old bed. We helped my mom with some new house jobs. We all drove out to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula one day and went up in the Space Needle on another. There was plenty of Trader Joe’s, cooking, and cookie decorating.
        My mom and I got to go wedding dress shopping and I actually picked out a dress! I’m so glad we were able to do that together. Looking at invitation stationary wasn’t nearly as much fun but I found something with input from Lee and Mom. The glares from the couple in front of us when I expressed my disdain for spending gobs of money on invitations were priceless.
        I must be leaving something out from the trip. It was a long one so I don’t remember everything. Lee and I got back to Charleston just before midnight last night. We were in a cab on the way to the marina when 2010 began 2011. It’s much warmer here than it was before and certainly warmer than Seattle. The fog hangs just above the water.
        Yesterday we took the dinghy to the grocery store. It was a wet ride but easier than the bus. The afternoon’s activities consisted of unpacking and cleaning the boat. Lee vacuumed and mopped (I know, I’m so lucky!). We slept till after 8 this morning, a travesty for us. Jet lag may get in the way of our planned Monday morning departure.