It has been said that you can never go home; I guess you would have to define home to know if that is true or not.

Twenty nine years ago I had to come "home". This home was my parent's home and I needed a place to hide from an abusive first husband. I felt very out of place and felt like I, or my children, were always in the way; it certainly didn't feel like home anymore. It was my parent's home, not mine, but it provided the safety and the support that we needed to get through that horrible time.

Within a year, I bought a home in my home town of Garland. It was about a mile from my parent's home and the space between us was necessary and comforting. I knew they were close by if I needed them but I wasn't underfoot and I didn't have to worry if my children's laughter was too loud. I'm sure that my perceived "in the way-ness" was only my perception; I was never made to feel that way from my parents.

Within a year I met and married my second husband, and we became soulmates. He had two kids and I had two kids and they were so close in age that it was like having two sets of twins. Within two years we knew we needed a lot more space so we bought a larger home, still in my hometown of Garland. We agreed that we needed to stay in the same school district because of our children, or more aptly put to allow his kids to go to the same school regardless of which parent they were with. His ex-wife lived in the next town, but in the same school district. Our top priority was always the kids and making life easier for them. My children's father was deceased so he wasn't in the picture.

I love the small town of Garland, even though I don't know many of its residents. I am related to quite of few of the inhabitants because it seems like a lot of the family stayed put. Garland has one small store that makes great pizza, a small post office, an Historical museum, a stone library, a town office, a volunteer fire station, a church and a grange hall. A pond lies almost at the center of town and in the summer kids gather there for swimming. In the winter, it sees ice fishing, snowmobiles and cross-country skiers. Garland is a great place to raise children.

I still live in that house with my beloved husband, and although its layout isn't all that convenient for us now, we plan to remain here at least during Maine's beautiful spring, summer and fall. This house is the family gathering place at holidays and I love it when the house is full of our children and their families. Last week I was having lunch with my oldest granddaughter, Hannah, and I happened to mention that after Grampy retires in a few years we may spend our winters in a much warmer climate. He eyes got huge as she asked "You aren't going to move out of your house are you?" She told me that she loves our home and our big yard and that it would be awful if she couldn't come to "Nana and Grampy's" house. I liked how she said it, like Nana and Grampy's house was one big word.

Even though my mother still lives in the same home I grew up in and stayed at when I was hiding from my ex, I still feel an attachment to that house. It's been remodeled a dozen times and barely resembles my childhood home, but I still love to be there. I guess that even though you can never go home, home is always in your heart.