So my boyfriend and I just went on a trip to England. We met with one of our closest friends in London for a few days, and then traveled north to Leeds where she has been doing her graduate studies.
We walked a lot. We talked a lot. We laughed a lot. And we ate a lot.
We slept enough. We drank a bit. We snuggled a bunch. And we cried a little.
And of course we saw the things, and tasted the stuff (or “saw some trourist destinations and tasted some traditional food” as one does when traveling).
In short: it was a lovely trip that I am so thankful to have shared with two people whom I love so much. But besides the adventures of travel and the joys of time together, the whole experience really got me thinking about the human capacity to “create home.”
This is a concept I have thought a lot about over recent years. I’ve moved a number of times, and had to carve out many different spaces to call my home. This is a sacred process. And not only have I needed to create my own spaces, but have also been witness or welcomed to spaces other people have created.
So on this trip, I was reminded of this concept in both small and large ways. We made our Airbnb in London our “home” for three days. This process included making sleeping arangements, stocking the refrigerator, setting our toiletries up in the bathroom, lighting candles, making a mess, and making food. And like that, a stranger’s flat suddenly became our sanctuary—a small example of the capacity to adapt and create home.
A bigger example would be my friend’s house in Leeds. It was fantastic to see how she had designed her space with the things she needed like photographs, books, letters, works of art, and lights. Despite the distance from the US, she has been able to create a tiny home for herself in her room. It was a gift to be welcomed into it.
And then of course there was the return home—back to our personal spaces with cats to cuddle, familiar beds to sleep in, and photographs, books, letters, works of art, and lights of our own. And not to mention back to all the people we love, and all the learned schedules and structures we follow.
What is home for you? What sort of things do you need to make the space yours—what sort of “tools“ do you use to “carve” out your home?
Keep peace and keep creating,
Parker <3
