What is Home?

Grade: 5A Name: Alyssa Olivia Anna Terry School: Alberton Elementary My home is safe and comforting, like a swing swaying in the wind, the gentle breeze carrying the scent of cookies and sweets, like kids playing in the ocean. No worries, just peace and caring words. Home isn't just where you live and go to after school, it's a place where you can be you, where no one can judge you for being yourself, where you all live in peace, in caring hands. Imagine you're in your old childhood home, the swingset still rusty and aged like you remember, you walk through the door, the door creaking so quietly like when you were little, the stray cats bolt away. You go to your childhood bedroom, the drawings you drew on the wall when you were just 5, feeling like it was just yesterday and wondering where did the years go? How did time fly so fast all of a sudden? You walk into your childhood bedroom, your lights glowing with age, dust still under the bed where your parents forgot to clean, your teddies on you’re bed covered in dust from how long they sat there, the nostalgia hitting you like a train mentally, so many sad moments turned happy that you forgot suddenly catching up to you, how your friendship with your best friend didn't turn out so good, how you thought back then “i hope nothing changes!”...and now? You're older, having a job, kids and a family..where did everything grow up so fast? It felt like yesterday you went to school for the first time, where everything was overwhelming at first…now it's like a breeze on your shoulder. You sit on your childhood bed, the old springs barely holding you, you think…where did all that time go? It felt like seconds when you were born, yet now your in your 30’s and living a real life…you remember when your mom used to kiss you on the forehead when you cried, when she let you get away with everything because she felt bad for grounding you, where you thought nothing could go wrong in life, when you still thought that the world was a better place and nothing could stop you, where you tried to follow your dreams but…it didn't happen, and you realized that sometimes there's things you can and can't fix, it all crashed down…where did you go wrong? Where did everything start going down hill? You look through your childhood home…it felt so real, where everything had more color and your cat would lay on your lap..you miss her…but you know shes in peace, tho you start to cry because of how much you realized how much you miss her, your tears stain your cheeks and you sit heavily on the rocking chair your dad bought because it felt nice, it still did feel good, tho you think to yourself “where did everyone go all of a sudden?”, you look around your childhood house, feeling a pang of sadness…a snicker’s bar wont fix this one. You go to your car as you leave the house, starting the car as you drive off…always appreciate what you have before it's gone, you drive through the streets, the light poles lights glowing ominously as you get to your house. You park and turn off the car and unlock your house, you walk inside…the kids are asleep, your husband is sleeping with them..you smile, knowing your parents would be proud of the family you built, how far you came without her help…home is not unsafe….its merely the opposite, safe, nice, caring…everything good in life, where you see your mom and dad after school, where you fought by school to make it here…everything is perfect, even if loss has to make it perfect. You sit next to your husband, all the anxiety flowing away like a river, you fall asleep beside him as he strokes your back gently, home is a heaven, where you can open your mind, peacefully sleep without judgement, where you and your siblings grow up together and be normal kids…even tho home is peace, there can be loss with it. And THAT is what home means to me, a safe haven from the outside world with peace.