home is where...

This is a sampling of the results that came up when I googled the phrase "Home is where..." :

-happy memories grow
-we park our house
-the dirt is
-the heart is
-the airport is
-the cash is
-you dig it
-the wind blows

And the countdown has truly begun. 22 days until I leave Seattle. 22 days until I leave my home. Or am I returning to my home? Almost exactly two years ago I moved to this city. I'm not sure when Seattle truly became home. Somewhere along the way during those two years it just seemed to happen. Seattle is the first place that I lived on my own as an adult. Seattle is where I had my first post-college employment. Seattle is the first place that I just up and moved to for no reason other than to move somewhere new. I will miss my friends here. Yes, we can keep in touch, but relationships change and some that are important on a day to day basis fade though years and distance. No matter what happens with my friendships, there are some things from Seattle that I can't take with me. I will be leaving behind the view of the Cascades and Mt. Rainier that I marvel at as I drive across 520. I remember very clearly the first time I caught a glimpse of Seattle. I was driving my car on I-90, coming over the bridge, when I saw the mountains and the water. It was in that moment that I new I'd made the right choice by coming to Seattle. Now here we are two years later and I'm getting ready to leave.

Is Boston home? No, not yet. But New England, the Northeast... that is still home in many ways. That is where my family is. Many people I was friends with from elementary school through college are still there. I'm getting ready to make Boston my next home. Maybe it will happen faster this time.