Home Is...

Boston.  I was born in New York, and I grew up in North Carolina; but Boston is home.  I moved here in 1999 primarily because I was bored.  I was single and wanted to experience living in a different place.  I contemplated moving to other cities - New York, Seattle, and San Francisco were all on my list as well - but I ultimately chose Boston.  My little sister lived here at the time, and my older sister was just a few hours away in New York.  (Until they both moved away!  Boooo.)

I love that Boston maintains a small-town feel, but it offers great restaurants, museums, clubs, a world-class Symphony, and of course the Red Sox.  I love its history.  I love all of New England, with its antique stores and lobster rolls and beaches and mountains and beautiful seasonal weather.  Amazing Autumns, white Winters, muddy Springs (okay, I could do without such a long Spring), and gorgeous Summers.

Our little town in the suburbs.  We moved from a condo in the city to a house in the suburbs.  We chose our house because it is located in a town we always loved coming to visit.  We used to venture out of the city to take a picnic by this pretty waterfall.  We would go to one of the nearby farms to go apple-picking.  When we saw a cute little house in this area, we felt very sure that it was meant to be.  There are farms surrounding my neighborhood in every direction, but my house is only 20 minutes from Fenway Park.  For me, it's the perfect balance between city and country life.

Now that we have kids, I appreciate the location even more.  We can walk to the library, to our community farm, to a nature reservation for hiking or biking, and across the street to the Charles River.  The marathon runs through here each April, the town sponsors a family-friendly 4th of July parade, and there is a growing farmer's market where we spend our Saturday mornings in the Summer.  The boys are free to roam all over our small private road, and our back yard is a baseball field.

Our house.  It is a relatively old house (1852), and it needed a ton of work.  Once we get through this year's big renovation (the last one!), we will have touched every single room.  But then it will truly be ours.  We will have made it into the home we wanted.  My bathroom is exactly what I wanted it to be.  My kitchen will be soon.  We'll also have the pleasure of knowing that we renovated a sweet little old house into a nice place to live.

Wherever my boys are.  Ultimately, of course it doesn't matter where I live.  The house could burn down or we could move across the world, and as long as I have my three boys with me, I'm home.