home

i'll admit it. i'm a gleek. for those of you not down with the lingo, that means a "glee" geek. i can't help it. i'm absolutely hooked on this ridiculously cheesy, unrealistic high school sitcom. so recently i was re-watching the "home" episode (all of the spotlighted characters unpredictably discover or deal with the same theme or issue during an episode). kristin chenoweth sings a beautiful verson of "home," and the beginning lyrics go like this: "when i think of home, i think of a place where there's love overflowing..." i thought this entirely appropriate as i just spent 2.5 weeks in my nc homes and then speedily returned to my bolivian home. so, when i think of home, i think of the places where people give love overflowing:

mom and dad, i'm so thankful that you took great effort (even more than you originally thought) to come visit me in la paz. i'm grateful that you have experienced my home here. i am also thankful to be able to go "home" to greenville, at the house, in our neighborhood and at church.

kelly and charlie, even though i didn't live with you very long, i have always felt at home with you and your sweet family in greensboro. thanks for getting the beach place and making it a wonderful home for the week.

to my community in glenwood, i think it will always feel a little like home when i visit.

to nannie and granddaddy, you always open up your house to so many with such generous hospitality. thank you for sharing your heart with me each time i enter your home.

to my friends across my north carolina/united states home, thank you for letting your love overflow to me. i always feel at home with you.

to my "family" and friends in my bolivian home, thank you for welcoming me with that same kind of love. i am grateful to be able to call la paz my home now.

even though it is at times unsettling to not be, well, settled, i am honored to have so many places that i lovingly call home. i guess the saying's true: home IS where the heart is.