Home is where the heart is, and I personally believe that this saying could not be more true. Home is where you feel comfortable, where you feel welcome. It is a place where you can confide in the people around you. Home is that “Ugh! I am home and can finally crawl into my bed!” kind of feeling (you know what I am talking about). Luckily, I have not only been blessed with one place I am able to call home but I have been blessed with two. I was born in Germany and raised in The South and my family lives in two different continents.
I have a home in Daphne, Alabama and a home in Bad Staffelstein, Germany. I am just as close to the family in Germany as I am to the family I have here in the U.S. The only difference is that I am not as capable of seeing my family in Germany than I am the family I have here. Fortunately, I have had multiple opportunities to visit my family in Germany. I love traveling in general, so being able to visit family in a foreign country makes it even more exciting. The distance also creates a strong bond between my German family and I.
Many people dream of being able to travel to Europe and it will always be a dream of mine to travel the world, but having family in Germany allows me to experience it in a different way. Not only am I able to site see and take part in the cultural activities but I am able to create and form strong friendships with the friends and family I have residing in Germany. I am able to speak with the people in their language and it makes me feel like I truly belong there. It feels like I have two lives in a way; a wonderful family in both continents and a great group of loving, adventurous friends to go along with both.
For many people, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are generally spent with the entire family but unfortunately I am not able to be in two places at once. Phone calls are made to wish the one half “Happy Easter,” “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Merry Christmas” and then those holidays are celebrated with the other half. It’s very different because we do not have a set tradition on the plans we make for the holidays every year. Sometimes we go here, sometimes we go there.
But one thing I know is certain, I truly could not be more grateful for my two homes. I love all of my family dearly and it is a heaping blessing to be able to have so many connections to my family everywhere! It is interesting having two homes but I would never wish for anything else. If you have family in another country, take advantage of the opportunities that could arise and most definitely take advantage of the time you have to spend time with them. Overall, I share the equal love between both sides of the fam-jam!
