Home is
WHEREVER WE ARE B Y AU T U M N K I N S E Y | P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y A N N I E G R O V E S
W
e have a sign in our house that says “Home is Where the Coast Guard Sends Us” with a list of all the places we’ve been stationed since my husband and I were married. While that sign is partially true (and getting pretty long!), our family knows that our definition of home is just slightly
different than most. Even for a military family, our 6 moves in 9 years is on the high end. Thankfully, our three children, ages 7, 4, and almost 2 embrace this life and have actually been begging to move this year, even though it’s not time yet!
Oahu, Mudd Key offshore Key West, beignets in New Orleans, or the trailhead in Clearwater, we always find somewhere to be together and enjoy our new environment.
Throughout our many moves, I’ve become an expert at setting up our house. I have a system that starts with packing all of the kids special items in our luggage and includes setting up our household goods as close to the last house as possible. It’s always a challenge, but it makes settling in and finding things just a little bit easier each time. We do this as quickly as possible and immediately start finding the fun in our new locale. In each place we’ve lived, we have had a “go to” spot. Whether that is the baby tidepools on 20
Home is not a place for us. It's just what we are, together or apart. Sometimes it’s a feeling that may not show up for a couple months because daddy had to deploy before we moved in. Or one that shows up in a hotel room or furnished townhome before we get our household goods. It may just be the feeling we have as we explore in the car before we are settled in a new area. It’s hard to explain, but as much as having a specific geographic place that is home is typical for most people, knowing how to move our family and still be home is exactly what we strive to do.
