What makes a place a home? I deeply suspect it's dogs but maybe it's a bit more.
We've lived in Costa Rica for about seven months now. In that time I've been to Texas and back three times and to Spain and Colombia one time each. Of the seven months I've been in Costa Rica I've been gone for nearly two of them. This last trip was the longest I've taken, 24 days, so when we headed back to the two-bedroom, two-bath condo that we keep our stuff in I wondered if it would feel like home.
The thing is, I've been looking to fall in love with a place. For most of my life, I never got to pick where I lived. As the child of an Air Force pilot, we moved a lot. I was OK with that. My mom made it an adventure, we got a new start at each new home and since I tended to get bored quickly the change suited me.
As an adult, I didn't get to pick where I lived either. I married my husband at 21 years old and we set out on his career path crisscrossing the United States and working our way up the TV Station ladder. From small Texas towns to big cities like Boston, Cincinnati, and San Diego we hopped around every two to four years. Again, this suited me, I liked the change, the excitement and I was damn good at moving and all of the logistics that contained.
Then in 2005 while we were living in Atlanta a strange thing happened. I wanted to move, but I wanted to pick it this time. I wanted to move to Texas. My family was on the west coast, Don had family in Texas and I felt kinda lost and out of place in Atlanta. A plan was hatched, some phone calls made, and a small miracle later we packed up and headed for Dallas.
We built a beautiful home on four acres. I had my own barn on the property so for the first time my horses could be right in my backyard. The neighborhood was amazing and I felt grateful every time I drove up to it, so happy that I got to live there. For the first time, ever, I got to pick a state, a city, a neighborhood where I wanted to be and I was in love.
We lived there for six years then life, as it does, moved us a few more times, to places I didn't really want to go. But then, I fell in love again. This time with 70 acres of central Texas countryside, we lived there for six years too and I felt grateful every time I drove down the long, dirt road to our quiet little country home.
And now, the ultimate choice, Costa Rica, but not my first choice, remember? That was France. But definitely the best choice for this time. We moved here because it made sense, oh yeah, and it's beautiful and the people are so nice, and there are so many pretty birds to look at and oh, and lizards, turns out I love lizards, love watching them! Anyway, I digress. Everyone around me is in love with the country, the town. I'm really fond of it.
So all of that to land on this, this thought that just blossomed in the quiet outcroppings of my brain. Do I need to be in love?
One of the things that helped me set up a new life that I loved every time I moved was saying to myself, "It's not the place, it's the people." Then I would go out and find wonderful people to be with and build my life around that.
Love can be an instant, overwhelming, head-over-heels sort of thing but it can also be a slow-growing warmth, built over time and experiences.
When we flew back to Costa Rica after being gone for three weeks and got back to our condo did it feel like home? Not really.
But then I brought the dogs back from a friend's house and unpacked our stuff. I got a couple of text messages from new friends asking about our trip and when did we want to meet up. Neighbors around our condo complex said Hi and welcomed us back. And I realized that what I lived by in the past was true now, It's not the place, it's the people.
This is a good place, it has really good people. I live as part of a community that has its ups and downs but after the isolation of Covid, it feels good to be part of a life in close proximity to people with sounds of music and laughter and conversation.
Let's just say that Costa Rica and I are dating...and I think it's getting serious.
Pura Vida, ya'll!
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