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surveys / homeatheart
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Home at Heart
Home is where the passion is.
For some, it is the smell of fields. For others, the whirl of downtown streets. Whatever the reason, home has a different meaning to every one of us. Tell us what home means to you in our new online survey!
Is it your garden, the character of your community, or the shape of your living room? Share with us what makes your space your sanctuary.
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COMMENTS |
corinne boudreau
Submitted:
Thursday, February 12, 2004
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i came down with debilitating arthritis which
forced me into early retirement. Having had a
very full,busy and fun filled life in beautiful,
friendly halifax, which i could no longer afford
to live in, i opted for a small house very near
my son and his wife in the annapolis valley. a
place called mount denson. It took me awhile to understand the local folk as
they are so cooperative, they don't even have to
like you, if you're a neighbour, you will be
treated as such. Yes, there are some nosy folk,
but no more than in the city. As a mostly
disabled woman, living alone with her two dogs, i
feel very safe in this environment. More than that, i now have three acres of wood,
brook, wild roses galore, fruit trees, mink,
rabbits, pheasant, skunks, yikes. Where i can't
walk city streets, especially in winter, i now
can walk at my own pace during all seasons and
read stories to the birds by the brook while my
dogs frolic in the water. When in the city, there
isn't much patience for someone hobbling along at
a very slow pace, however, the little creatures i
now spend my time with have no problem with it at
all. One door closes, another one opens. |
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Gord Boyd
Submitted:
Monday, June 16, 2003
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My wife and I are returning after close to ten
years abroad. I know I cringe when seeing mainly
Americans buying into 'gated communities' and it
is exactly the diversity in a smaller community
that has become even more important because of
being away. You see these blank page criteria
for 'choosing the best place to retire' in
articles and annuals. But it is clear from
reading contributions here that family & friends
mean so much, even if efforts for the latter is
part & parcel of moving to a new community. In
our case, we've chosen Southampton Ont., a
popular cottaging spot for best friends in
Kitchener/Waterloo, and accessible to (or from)
larger communities for variety. Our home will be
to our design for our living style but we're
intending to call our community our home. I'm
looking forward to it immensely. |
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Darren Thomas
Submitted:
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
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For me, home is not merely one thing. It is a
combination of so many things that exist in my
life to form a kaleidascope of beauty that draws
me in. It's the way the sun shines through my
window when I wake up every morning and the
street light that acts as a night light for me
every night. It gives a sense of security, as if
there is always someone watching over me. Then
there is garden in our front yard. It radiates
the yard increasing the enjoyment I feel every
time I come home. Inside is a place of beauty as
well as freedom. Oh, what a beautiful house it
is but at the same time it is comfortable. There
is not the anxiety of worrying about dirtying
something. The focus is not on the appearence of
the house but instead on the times experienced
and enjoyed there. Lastly, the most important
thing that makes home home is when, above all
these things in the kaleidescope, you add the
people with which I enjoy it with. The
experience is heightened so much when there is
someone that you love there to experience it
with. |
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Pamela Jan
Submitted:
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
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Home is internal and external space, an abode, a
domicile, a place to hang your hat and take off
your boots, a place to go inward or celebrate
with friends. Home is a wandering spirit come
home to roost, a glance out the window, a bald
eagle overhead, the squirrels in the attic. Home
is the sound of cats meowing and the clitter
clatter of domestic life, a pot gonging here, the
whir of a washing machine there, the tip tap of
fingers on keyboards, perhaps a computer or an
accordion blazing through the house with celtic
furor. Home smells like old linen, good coffee,
snow on its way. Home is here, where we live,
home is where we have lived, home is where we are
going to live, it is all of these places, rolled
into one, yet disparate, hanging by our narrative
thread, stuffed into boxes, pasted between pages
of photo albums and the minds’ eye. Home is of
our choosing, not a difficult choice, when home
speaks to you, you can hear it calling speaking
your language. Home has a centre; a sense of
balance that persists through acute angles high
ceilings arched windows. Home is organic. Home
tastes of curry of cinnamon toast of sushi of
bannock of bacon and eggs on Sunday. Home still
lingers on the farm in the Creston Valley, a big
open land along the canal we shared with 250
species of birds and an apple eating grizzly
bear. Home is in the Okanagan now where
everything is milder where everything is
available where the flow of life is relentless
where you have to remember to climb a hill or
walk along forest trails leading out the back
door. Home is a garden a tent under summer sky a
place on a plane. Home feels safe, but can be
swiftly blown away by invasion accident war acts
of nature. Home is always and absolutely
defensible. Home is autonomy; home is
sovereignty, the right to denounce intruders
posing as friends. Home is the ‘true north strong
and free.’ Home is Canadian, welcoming with open
arms, and *‘the right to..security of person..the
right not to be deprived thereof...’ Home is for
everyone not just the imagined few. Home is the
UN Declaration of Human Rights Article 25
where ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of
living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself (sic)and his family, including food,
clothing, housing...’ Home is right, right here,
where I lay my head beside you and dream, home
free. * Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Legal
Rights, sec.7, italics mine |
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Monique MacDonald
Submitted:
Thursday, February 27, 2003
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home is in your ......
Can home be in your house? Can it be in your
backpack? On a ship? Home is wherever one wishes
or define where it is to them. My home is in Nova Scotia,in a small part of
Pictou County, I was born and raised in this
county and have lived in 3 different area and
have no real desire to leave this county. I would
like to travel some and I have,but this part of
the world is home to me. Why? I can't really say
any one thing or one reason(aside from my
family). All I know is when I cross the county
borders comming from Truro or from Antigonish I
become relaxe I know I'm home. I know there is a
lot of things said about this county thru Canada
from our tourism industry,but I think they miss
out on some key elements. We are not defined
solely as a fishing community,or a logging
area,or as farming either,this county is very
deverse,We are all those things and more. We may
have started out with a strong scottish community
(and still have one ) but we have grown to be so
much more. This county is able to support five
towns,we have major industries that are known
world wide. We are building new P3 schools to
encourage our children and to develop them to be
them best they can be. This is my home and I am pround to say I am from
here. I'm proud to say I have lived here all my
live,married and now am raising my children. They
in turn will return to this area when grown if
they choose. They say home is where your heart is
and I have to say that is true to me. I met my
husband in this county(while still in junoir
high),my friends are still here and many more
return to this area because they say its home. To
travel is wonderful, but to come home is even
better,at least it is from me. I can go out on a
spring morning have my tea in my gazebo on my
deck and watch as my kids get on their bus for
school and can meet them there again when they
come home. I don't know if that good or bad but
to me it great. We live 15 minutes from 4 towns
in the area,so we can go and see different things
or be content to say home and do nothing. Up the road from where I live is a look off that
let us see for miles in 4 direction of the
county,on clear summer nights you can see star
that are not hazey from city or town lights. So
yes I'm proud of where I live and I hope everyone
else is just as proud of where they live in
Canada,to have a place like this to explore or
savor.
yours truly
Monique MacDonald
Sylvester
Pictou County
Nova Scotia |
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Cindy Barr
Submitted:
Thursday, February 27, 2003
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The space that makes me feel the happiest is the
deck. I sit there in the morning watching the sun
rise and the soya crop grow just beyond our
property line. The sound of mourning doves,
chickadees, and blue jays calms my soul before I
head out to the busyness of my day. |
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