Home is where the heart is...

For all of you waiting for part 2 of Highway Hypnosis, never fear it's coming. But for today I wanted to share something I wrote to honor my sailor since he's shipping out on Friday. I was going to tell it on the stage for Westside Stories but felt it's more of a personal essay than a story. The theme is "Home is Where the Heart Is".

Good evening, my name is Mona and I’ll begin by telling you a little bit about my homes. First there’s my old hometown of Ukiah and my heart was broken there on a few occasions but that was a long time ago. Then there’s our summer home, the cabin in the forest visited by the multi generations of our family who have had many heartfelt times living and laughing there for decades. And of course there’s my house in the burbs’ that I get to share with hubby Dave who every so often after 33 years still makes my heart pitter patter.

But when I really learned home is where the heart is was when I watched my only child graduate from boot camp and then be assigned to a base on the other side of the country. There’s a quote I heard once that goes something like this; when you have a child it’s like your heart has left your body and is out walking around in the world.

So that means soon my home will be the USS Truman, a huge aircraft carrier that I’ve never even seen except in photos. I say this because my heart, E4ABH Mechling will be working in the hanger deck on deployment for the next eight months thousands of miles away in an ocean I can only see on a map.

Yes home is where the heart is and for now that’s wherever my sailor might be.