What Home Means to Me

Home is not a thing with four walls, some windows and a roof. Home is the feeling of love and safety. It's the smell of freshly baked cookies and happiness. A house is an empty space with a tint of discomfort. A home is that mug you always drink hot chocolate out of, or that teddy bear your mom gave you for your seventh birthday. A house has a "For Sale" sign on the front lawn and no one there to answer the door. A home has a garden blooming with flowers and a family snuggled inside. A house has pictures of unknown people and there's dust on top of the frame. A home has pictures of you and your family and there's so much joy to give. Yes, a house might have a bed or a dining table or a couch, but a home is a place of love and belonging. That's what home means to me. Thank you Habitat for Humanity for building our community! (* This piece was written as a concrete poem in the form of a home with a heart behind it.)