Ahhh…There’s No Place Like Home

After being away from home for about a week, we all love that coming home feeling.  After being in the hospital for about a week or so, Tami was beyond excited to be coming home, especially to her own bed.  Tami and I moved to the apartments at Portola Place in February 2008.  It was in a beautiful community on the outskirts of Irvine, near the foothills.  There was always a beautiful view across OC and out to Catalina on a clear day.  On a cold winter day after the rain, you might catch a glimpse of snow on Saddleback Mountain as well.  She loved listening to the birds and the coyotes.  She loved to sit on the patio/balcony reading her paper, drinking her coffee, while the sun delivered some much needed Vitamin D.  She loved to take walks around the community.  It was almost a daily occurrence.  While on our walks, we would always be amused by the flocks of birds and their behavior.  For those of you who are Pixar Shorts fans, remember For the Birds?  Well, on one of our walks, a flock of birds were sitting on the electrical wires and we just watched.  It was cracking us up as birds would jockey for position and jump from one wire to another.  If only we knew what they were thinking.  That same evening, the whole flock left the wire at once, buzzed our heads and landed in the Eucalyptus trees a couple blocks away.  Every evening after that we looked for those birds.  We’d catch a beautiful rainbow every now and then.  She took tons of sunset pictures off of our balcony.  The walls were covered with her incredible photographs.  

To her, our home was peaceful, welcoming, warm, loving, and a reflection of who we were.  It was so nice that we actually had the same taste in colors, furniture, accents, etc.  She enjoyed picking out everything from the dining room table, to rugs, to picture frames.  Sometimes she was like a kid in the candy store, but one thing is for sure, we created an environment we both wanted to come home to.  Home is where you are accepted and loved for who you are, not who should be.  Home is where you can let down your guard and be vulnerable and emotional.  Home is where you are safe.  Home is where you create heartfelt, lifelong memories with family and friends, like Tuesday night dinner's with the kids.  Home is where your heart is and longs to be.  I am so thankful that our Home was all she wanted it to be…even to the point of breathing her last there.