When Allan and I thought about selling our first home, I felt a small pang in my heart.  Allan proposed to me in that cozy little home in sleepy Spring Hill.  He carried me over the threshold after we were married.  Years later, I carried two little infants through that very same door.

My oldest daughter, Allana, still speaks highly of that little home.  She fondly remembers her old bedroom walls covered with playful bunnies hiding in garden print paper.  She also recalls a huge lantana bush and several old shady oaks trees in the backyard. 

Eventually, our small family of four outgrew and overpowered our quaint little home.  The coziness was no longer cute, but rather cramped our style.

While we lived in Spring Hill, my DH’s commute to Clearwater took over 3 hours round trip.  Allan wanted to invest in more quality family time rather commute time.  With that, we sold our home and purchased a home a bit further south. 

Within a month, we sold our old home, but we sat in limbo for a few weeks until our new home was ready.  We turned to family members for a place to stay, but no one had room for our small family.

Then, a dear friend offered her vacant home hidden in the woods of Brooksville for us to stay rent free until our new home was completed.  Although we had all the comforts of home, I felt very isolated and alone due to the distance from my old friends in Spring Hill.  Those few weeks in Brooksville were the hardest for me.  

Once we settled into our new home in a new town, I started a moms group.  With the aid of an amazing moms group, I slowly began to build new friendships, but still kept ties to all my old friends in Spring Hill.  However, as my family and I began spending more and more time with our new friends, they quickly became our extended family and their smiling faces felt like home.  

Home is more than a shelter or a place to hang your hat or a step with a welcome to wipe your feet.  A true home transforms into a warm place when you are surrounded by people who love you and with those precious people, you create many cherished memories.

With my friend, Lori, moving away, I know that where ever she settles will be another home for me because a loving, warm home awaits me there.  The same will be true if and when our other friends decide to choose uproot and move away.

If my husband lost his job tomorrow and we became homeless overnight, I know I would still have a home in my heart because of the foundation my friends and family laid there.

What does home mean to you?  Tell your story to TwitterMoms. 

 Focus Features and TwitterMoms have teamed up to create a fun contest around their new movie premiering this month called “Away We Go.” A heartfelt comedy directed by Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, Away We Go follows one couple’s quest to find a place they can call home 

To participate, simply write a post on your own blog sharing what “home” means to you!  For more information, click here.