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Prompt: "Oh, I can't describe my home. It's home and I can't put its charm into words." Elizabeth Gaskell Use this quote for your Blog entry today.

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I have in PDF the book, North and South, the origin of the quote, which I might read probably next month for "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" . Since I haven’t read the book yet, I can’t tell in what context the quote was said. It could be sardonic, like something I would say when my house is not orderly. It could be said in earnest, alluding to the physical aspects of her home, or it could be said in an emotional way while talking about the sense of belonging the house evokes in the author.

In my case, as to the physical aspects of charm, I am in love with the old southern houses with wrap-around porches, cupolas, and secret places in them. The home I live in now is a one-story ranch on a golf course, and although it has its charms, I sometimes miss my earlier home on Long Island, which was also a ranch on two plus acres. I sometimes think the grounds of it was more my home than the indoors.

As to the emotional aspects of the home, I subscribe to the saying ~ the home is where the heart is.~ This is because a strong attachment to where we live has to do with the present happiness and the hope for the future stability in that place.

We are people, not trees; yet, we still like to establish our roots with affection, meaning, and some feeling of order in our lives. In that context, our sense of the place we call home is tied to our sense of who we are. Our home is not only a predictable and secure place but also the main connection between us and the world. From this point of view, home is where we make it because a home is much more than a place.