Home Is The Pot of Gold At The End of The Rainbow
No matter how far away we may be from home, it is the closest thing in our thoughts.
When you speak of "home" do you speak of just a building?
In one edition of a Webster's Dictionary of 1948, the second meaning of the word home is given as "One's abode after death; the grave."
Of course, to many Americans "home" can be a goal, such as "home plate" on a baseball diamond. It is also the proper position of a nail we drive "home," and there are other definitions for the word, but none so common as that dictionary's primary definition of "One's dwelling place; abode of one's family."
There may be a countless number of songs in all the languages of the world devoted to what "home" means to men, women, and children. Stephen Foster wrote an American ballad about a Kentucky Home which many sang about and dreamed of during America's civil war. Though the ballad was of a home in Kentucky, many sang the ballad thinking of their own homes in Illinois, New York, The Carolinas, New England, and elsewhere.
What is "home" to you? If your childhood home was not a pleasant one, "home" today may be where you are, or even a favorite place which is a "spiritual home" your heart is drawn to in your quiet moments and fondest memories.
Is there a real substitute for family, for grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters? Associations and friendships are important and can come close in many respects, but "family" and "home" as "the dwelling place of one's family" is something we long for, even in cases when we may wish it had been a happier and more peaceful place.
For those blest with a loving, secure, and happy home, there is a special thrill which comes when asked to list a "permanent home address" and that "home" is the one we can list.
There is an anticipation to going home, which for so many Americans is very special at this holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.
Migratory birds and fish have that same instinct and longing to return to their places of origin, sometimes, like humans, traveling over thousands of miles to accomplish their returns.
A longing for home, and for a good home, seems universal. It can and should be the real "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
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Copyright 2012 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.
The best memories are ones we participated in making.
- Make Memories Now For Those Dreams Later
What lasting memories can today provide for a future memory so many days later? Memories are the cushion for old age.