home

Most people that know me know exactly where home is. Actually, people that barely know me, know where home is. I'm from New Orleans. That's right, N'awlins. Ok, so I'm from Kenner...it's about 9 miles outside of the city but it's basically the same. And my high school was in uptown and my summer job was at Tulane University, so I can say that New Orleans is home.





And there are a lot of things that remind me of home....music, food, photos, tv shows, etc. But one thing I will always remembr from my childhood is the gardenia bush that was outside of our kitchen window. I wish I had a picture of it. It would bloom like crazy and when ever mom or I thought about it, we would cut off some of the flowers and bring them into the kitchen. I loved the smell of it. And there isn't a candle out there that can replicate that smell.

But this summer, I tried to create my own piece of home right here. And it's my newest ordinary miracle. I purchased a small gardenia plant at Lowes. It had a single blossom on it when I bought it in June and has not done a thing since. And about 3 weeks ago we noticed a few small buds popping up...but nothing bloomed. I started to wonder if the weather's been too cool. Or perhaps it's not humid enough for it to do well here. And then this morning as I was going out to church I saw this beautiful blossom. Actually there were two of them. Small. But beautiful. And that scent reminded me so much of home.

I haven't been home since 2004. If any of you remember, that was before Hurricane Katrina. My brother and his wife are the only family I still have in the area and they survived pretty well. My parents moved to Florida a number of years ago. The home that we grew up in and the only home that I ever knew received about 6ft of water. The first time I heard that news I was devastated. The family that lives there now planned to tear down the house and started over again. I couldn't believe I wouldn't have a place to drive by and say "hey kids, that's where mom lived." But then I heard that they had gutted the inside and started over. So while the inside isn't the same, the outside still looks like home.

I know that the old saying is "home is where the heart is." And my mom always used to say to me "anywhere you are is home." But sometimes you need that familiarity. Sometimes you need to sights and smells and sounds of home. I'm thankful everyday for my little piece of home on my front porch. And I hope to be able to keep it alive throughout the winter so that, come spring, I can take it back out to it's place of honor on the front porch to welcome guests and say "Y'all come on in." Because I always want to have a piece of home wherever I go.