Over this Christmas season I have been listening to my Christmas music playlist quite a lot in the car. One of my favorite songs is Jimmy Buffett’s Merry Christmas Alabama.
In the song Jimmy wishes a Merry Christmas to all of the places he has called home since his first birthday. This song got me thinking about all the places I’ve called home since my first birthday. That list includes:
- Canton, Ohio
- Lincolnton, North Carolina
- Bloomington, Indiana
- Limerick, Pennsylvania
- Sarasota, Florida, and
- Northampton, England
As Jimmy sings:
“Though far from you all I have roamed
“Tis the season to remember
All the faces and the places that were home
“Tis the season to remember
And to count up all the ports of call I’ve known
And to thank his mercies tender
For I’m never far from home
Merry Christmas to my saints and guardian angels
Who protect me as I roam
All the faces and the places that were home
Guess my life’s moved at near light speed
Since I started this wild and crazy run
Such a long way from that first birthday
Merry Christmas, Everyone
“Tis the season to remember
That we’re never far from home”
Whether it is in a knick-knack, a picture, a memory, a mug, my car – a Mini decked out in Union Jack accessories, or the way I spell “grey” (a former manager of mine had to watch for those English grammar habits that slipped into my marketing copy) each place I’ve called home is with me everyday.
I know at the time I was not happy about the moving. Just ask my Mom about my brother’s reaction to the news we were moving from NC to OH. I remember being eight and going to tell my Godparents we were moving to England. Instead of telling them I walked in their house and burst into tears.
Now each town, each house, each friend, each connection is a part of the quilt that made me who I am today. I love to travel and learning about new places. I am even OK moving homes – I have done it at least 11 times, so I am getting used to it by now. You leave a house, but you never leave the memories.
Thank you to everyone who helped me make every town a hometown. I’ve never felt far from home.
While I was Wandering 
4 thoughts on “All the Places I’ve Called Home”