For the last 2 years I've lived with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, but it never quite felt like home. Some years ago I wrote about the concept of paracosms, detailed imaginary worlds often created by children that artists may also use to define their work and ground them in a particularity (think Hogwarts). I argued (although I can't find that blog post, that's what you get for not creating tags....) that the same concept applied to those of us who grew up near the Indiana Dunes. I'm not sure a week goes by that I don't see a post on social media from a friend, classmate, or relative referencing the dunes. We are grounded in a particularity.
Now, I've moved "home," back to the Duneland community where I spent the first 18 years of my life. I haven't lived here for nearly 50 years, but it has always felt like home to me, the place where I am most comfortable, where I find the greatest peace, and where I've wanted to return. Thinking of my residential timeline it is roughly 18 years in one house, 10 years around central Indiana, 10 years in Pennsylvania, 19 in Upstate New York, and 9 in Chicago. Looked at that way, this community rivals NY for my residential longevity.
Still, it felt odd to change my phone GPS maps app to define this new address as "home." I guess like changing a relationship status on Facebook, changing your map setting is when you know the change is really official. I'm still surrounded by boxes and discovering odd surprises in this house, some good, some not so good, but it feels like home.
BTW, even thought I grew up close to the tip of Lake Michigan, I did not learn the
mnemonic for the Great Lakes (HOMES) until well into adulthood.
