Where is Home?

*by Linda Warren*

When I was escaping from my mother's house, she must have known that something was up. I was gradually moving my stuff out over a period of three days, traumatized and scared out of my mind.
She said to me, "Once you leave, you can never go home again." I thought to my self--that is not a threat. Who would want to come back to living HERE?
As I recovered from my experiences under her roof, her statement took on a new meaning for me. Perhaps it was unintended on her part, I don't know. I came to know that nothing is ever the same after leaving it.
Leaving my mother's house gave me unexpected power. I was no longer subject to her rages. I could choose when to communicate with her and when not to. I could keep myself safe.
Many years have passed since that time. Many years ago, I lived in Baton Rouge Louisiana for about eight or nine months. Gas was cheap then. My stomping grounds ranged from eastern Texas through Mobile Alabama to Picayune and Biloxi Mississippi. Friends and I visited New Orleans practically weekly.
Now the hurricane has leveled the city. New Orleans will remain in my memory golden bright and shining like the sun.
The places I have known that I have called home have all changed. It is true. I can never go home again. It is not just the places that have changed. I have changed too.
So just where is home? Home is where I am now. Home, like safety, comes from within.

-sapphoq