Home

House is defined by Merriam Webster as "a building in which a family lives".  

Home is defined by Merriam Webster as "the place (such as a house or apartment) where a person lives".  

Though on the basis of these definitions they sound similar, Merriam Webster furthers their comparison of house vs. home by saying "...a house is concrete.  House refers to a building in which someone lives.  In contrast, a home can refer either to a building or to any location that a person thinks of as the place where she lives and that belongs to her... A home can even be something abstract, a place in your mind... The special place where you feel most comfortable and that belongs to you".  

My house is the little green two story on the corner.  My house has paint chipping off on the front awning.  My house has a little brown bench on the front porch we all outgrew by the age of five.  My house is the driveway on the right after the yellow sign.  My house has three front facing windows that are always open to the same height (moms nit-picky what can I say).  

My home I grew up in is laying my head on my mom's lap and her playing with my hair.  That home is my dad ordering too many pizzas no matter how many people are eating with us.  That home is Grace standing in the doorway of my room, not saying anything, but giggling to herself. That home is Emmett suggesting that whatever the new Disney movie is, is a must-see for our family movie night. That home is Ellie complaining that her food is touching on her plate.  That home is being pelted with fake snowballs as soon as you round a corner, no matter the season.

My house is a place, stagnant and will always be there, but as I have grown up I have realized that the concept of my home will inevitably change meanings.  My home will always be my home, but it won't be my only home.  It is a special place in my head and my heart, and the people who have turned my house into a home will always be at the utmost importance in my life, but as I venture onto new adventures and places in life I have turned many of the places on my path into homes.  

Right now, my home is waking up at 7:15 and working three hours a day, it is posting daily instagram polls, listening to the Lumineers on repeat and eating frozen food.  

The link for me is between happiness and a home.  All the places in my life that I could consider a home of mine, is where I feel happiest and that I can most be the most "me" version of myself.  A safe feeling comes from being in a home that doesn't always come from being in a house.  My homes have been in different states, with different people, and at different points of my life, but the feeling I get from them remains the same. 

New seasons of life bring new homes.  And with that comes the fact that you will never fully be "home" again, because at each home you leave a bit of who you are at that time and your memories, and when you return it will never be the same as it was when it first became your home.