Many Places Are "Home"

Two weekends ago I went to Philadelphia for none other than the Super Bowl parade!! I was so excited to be able to go up for the weekend to celebrate the Super Bowl win. The reason I thought of this blog post idea is because on the drive up there and back my family and I stopped at many places we used to go. This idea that many places can be considered home and these places can bring a sense of familiarity and comfort make me so happy. Going back to places either me or my family used to go to all the time brings me so much nostalgia!!

I used to live outside of DC until I was 5, and that’s on the way up to Philadelphia. We stopped at my parents’ old favorite restaurant that they went to all the time when we lived up there–of course we took a selfie there. Then we got up to Philadelphia and stayed with my dad’s brother. We did Super Bowl parade shenanigans all of Friday and then we ended up leaving on Saturday morning.

On Saturday is when we really visited all the old landmarks. We stopped to get cheesesteaks–duh, we’re in Philadelphia, we have to get cheesesteaks!! We went to a place that my dad went all the time growing up. I find it so cool to be in a place that you have been before in a completely different time in life. In this case it was my dad that was there when he was little but I find it so fun. I don’t know if that makes sense. After cheesesteaks we drove around to some of the old houses my dad used to live in, some of his friends’ old houses, his high school, and many more places. It’s so cool to be able to look at where my dad grew up and drive around where he used to when he was younger.

After our tour around Philadelphia, we started the 8 hour drive back. On the way back we stopped at our friends’ house that lives in our old neighborhood. The funny thing is that while we were driving to their house, we saw our old neighbor walking and decided to say hi. He was amazed to see how old I have gotten because the last time I saw him I was probably 8. It’s so fun to reconnect and catch up with old friends!

All that to say, home isn’t just in one place–it’s scattered in pieces across the world, tucked into the places and people that shape us. It’s in the memories made at my old house when I was 5. For my dad, it’s revisiting Philadelphia where he spent almost his whole childhood. No matter where life takes you, bits of home are there, waiting to be found or remembered in unexpected moments.