What is "HOME"?

Every time I get asked “where are you from?” I have to hesitate. Sometimes, I say – Louisiana - because that’s where I was born. I only lived there two and a half years. Then my brother was born and we were transferred to Illinois. From there we moved “all over”. You know what I mean. Sometimes, I answer, “well, I was born in Louisiana, but my dad was in the Air Force, so we moved a lot. I lived in Texas more than anywhere else, so I guess, Texas”. Very confusing. My parents had a home and my kids have a place they call home.

Wikipedia defines “home” as

“A home is a place of residence or refuge.[1] When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or in a domesticated environment. "Home" is also used to refer to the geographical area (whether it be a suburb, town, city or country) in which a person grew up or feels they belong, or it can refer to to the native habitat of a wild animal. As an alternative to the definition of "home" as a physical locale, home may be perceived to have no physical definition--instead, home may relate instead to a mental or emotional state of refuge or comfort. There are cultures in which members lack permanent homes, such as with nomadic people.”

I guess we were nomads.

Religion is complicated also – What religion are you? I always said “Protestant” – I went to the Protestant services at the Chapel on base, right? I really didn’t realize that Protestant contained several religions for a long time. I guess I’m “multi-religional”. I married a Catholic, divorced, married a Lutheran, got a religious annulment and converted to Catholic and then started going to Protestant services again. I miss the Chapel!!!!

I left Texas with my first husband in 1972 – I spent 31 years in Florida. I never liked it there. I felt alone and alien. I never realized how much I missed Texas – or how different Florida was as compared to Texas – the people, the culture, the fact that I wasn’t near an Air Force base and there were no military people around. I met and married my second husband, Danny, in Boca Raton, Florida. He moved there when he was 2 years old and lived in the same house for 20 years. Who does that? I thought I was stuck in South Florida forever. When the opportunity to move back to Texas presented itself I held my breath. I didn’t believe it was true. You can never go home – right? Well, I guess I didn’t think I was returning to my home because I don’t have one, right? I’m a nomad. I spent 31 years of my life in a place I didn’t really like – but I made a ton of friends, I had a career, had another son – had a life. I lived there longer than anywhere else. I even lived in a house for more than 2 ½ years!!! I even stopped moving furniture!!

One day shortly after I moved back here I was driving down I-35 on my way from New Braunfels to Air Force Village – south of San Antonio, near Lackland AFB, where my parents lived. I’m nearing the exit to Randolph AFB and I look up and I see jets flying overhead. I saw another set of jets right behind them and they flew over me as I was driving. My eyes started burning and tears started flowing – I was HOME.

I still don’t know what to say when people ask where I’m from or what religion I practice. I do know that I feel like this is my home and I do believe in God. So I must be from here.

Where are YOU from?

Gloria Campbell Gallagher '65