Home Is Where the Heart Is

Home isn't only a place. It can be, but most of the time it's so much more than where you rest your head on your pillow at night.

Home is the first swim of the summer, as the cool water reaches your skin.

Someone listening to you intently, really hearing what you're saying, as you ramble on and on, and they act like they care about your every thought – just because they like hearing you speak.

Seeing your friends and family after a long time apart. Hearing the voice of someone you haven't seen in a while. Someone telling you that they missed you.

Hugs that neither of you want to pull away from. Hot drinks on cold days. Laughter that is so genuine and endless it makes your stomach and ribs hurt. Inside jokes. Getting texts from your friends about the most random things and doing the same to them just because you can.

The way your name sounds when it's said by someone who really knows and understands you.

Home is the smell of something baking in the oven that hits your nose long before you actually reach the kitchen. A playlist full of all your favourite songs. Borrowed clothes that still smell like the person you stole them from.

Silence that doesn't feel awkward or need to be filled. Your dog running up to you when you get home, tail wagging like they've been waiting all day just to see you. Looking at the stars that you used to make wishes on.

A bouquet of pretty flowers that you can't help but stop to smell and stare at as you pass by.

Home is the sound of rain gently tapping against the roof as you fall asleep slowly. Late night conversations with people that just get you.

A compliment that still makes you smile until late in the day, long after it's been told but still weighing on your mind. A comfortable bed after a tiring day.

The joy of spontaneously dancing to whatever music is playing – or to none at all, simply because you feel like it.

Saying hi and smiling to someone you know as you're out and about. Someone scratching your back and playing with your hair without you asking them to.

Home is the people you love. A feeling. A moment.

Home is where the heart is.