A WRITER'S INTROSPECTION OF 'HOME'........

A series of short stories......

Home Cooking Right From The Garden To The Table

.......as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes


"It's just four walls with a roof to keep the rain off your head but, it's what I call home!" 

You recognize this line.....from almost every Western film or vintage black and white movie you can remember watching on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon during your childhood!  I certainly do.  Let's interject an "Awe shucks, Ma'am" here and there or, tweak it a bit with 'chestnuts roasting' over the brick hearth and an elderly gentleman bouncing one grandchild on his knee while several others, seated on the floor in front of him, intently listen to his stories. 

 



Pebbled Path

The Irish storytellers are well known for helping to keep the past alive.  Both ancient tales and poems were told by the seanchaithe (servant to the chief of the tribe) or bard (Celtic order of minstrel poets),  and each served as the custodian of an indigenous oral tradition, traveling from one community to another offering their skills of storytelling in exchange for food and temporary shelter. 

Makers of Documentaries, writers, poets, photographers, grandparents.....each share an essential position in personal and public chronicles that organize our past, identify the present and serve to enlighten the future for generation after generation to come. 

The actual physical home made of brick and mortar, as the old saying goes, has always been my barometer for calculating and categorizing all of the emotional aspects of my time here on earth.  My father's occupation as I was growing-up had me and my immediate family moving from one place to another on a yearly basis.  By the time we settled in one location for more than a year's time, I was already fourteen years old.  Prior to this time, my life had been spliced together like so many reels of 8mm film and resembled distinct chapters of an autobiographical book, making it easy for me to immediately recall individual features of my past.  Each rental property I called 'home' became almost as important to me as the friends I had met, allowed into my life and then said good-bye to a year down the road.  For myself.....each place we lived in had four walls with a roof above but, most importantly, it provided the glue that helped to hold the pieces of my nomadic lifestyle together and in some semblance of order.

Rainy Day Blues

My Dear Mother, given what she had to work with and around, always seemed to make each house feel like our home.  She adapted well and made new living room draperies from the ones she had repurposed in the last house.  Dad was usually given permission by the 'owner' to paint the walls in a neutral color if he deemed it necessary so, we existed in a series of off-white and beige environments, for the most part.  The soft, warm ruby-red sofa my Mother had reupholstered herself always interjected the vibrancy and cheer she felt was necessary in such sterile surroundings.  I do not recall the exact fate of that sofa.  I only remember how much I loved it!

One major regret my Mother usually expressed upon each move was that she was not allowed the opportunity to physically change the landscaping of the properties we rented and provide more color and personality to the exterior spaces.  Thinking back, however, I cannot recall there being colorful pots or planters filled with flowers and placed on porches or near walkways to accommodate her green thumb and desires.  I imagine that after a few years and so many houses down the road, her wishes were more in the form of permanency and ownership rather than minute yearly fixes.

Lavender, Rosemary, Basil and Italian Parsley

After graduating high school and moving into my dorm room on campus at Michigan State, I began to formulate a clearer view of my future home with respect to color, comfort and design.  So, by the time I was married several years later, a passion for decorating emerged and was amply applied to the first home we built in Eaton Rapids, Michigan.  This adorable 1200 sq. ft. Cape Cod style house had at least four walls with a high-pitched, shingled roof over the top and it was our home (mainly the bank's), a blank canvas to supply color and texture to, landscape, live...laugh...love in, and a solid place to raise two precious young daughters.

Library Table With Family Pictures

We lived and enjoyed and added-on to this little gem of a home before moving-on a little over eight years later!  I will always hold dear the recollections of our young family creating so many wonderful 'first times' in that house......and never agonizing over having to unpack boxes someplace new each year.  This was a gift gladly given to our little girls.

Presently, I remain fortunate to have four substantial block walls with a sturdy, shingled roof to withstand high winds (hopefully) and keep the rain from the 'collision of Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes each afternoon' off of my head.  Phew!  Our location since becoming empty nesters eighteen years ago may have changed, however, the passion for renewing and improving the environment surrounding us has not.

Poolside Beauty

The paint used to 'color our world' on the inside today is low odor with zero VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and a portion of the flooring is sustainable, strand-woven bamboo (guaranteed with a low VOC rating).  My Francophile tendencies have been honed and intensified by being able to plant flowers and herbs in colorful porcelain pots to be enjoyed year round thus mimicking an inviting Provençal lifestyle right in my backyard!  My beautiful new friend, Eliane, who is from Belgium, came to our home yesterday for the first time before she and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch and conversation at Season's 52 in Orlando.  Even though our current kitchen renovation left a light layer of construction dust here and there, Eliane proclaimed, " Why, I think you must be a Princess getting to live in this pretty house!"  I believe my husband would elevate my status to a 'spoiled queen' more than likely.....

Did I mention that we have been recycling ever since moving in here over fourteen years ago?

My home has become a true haven for me in terms of my writing.  I have a certain spot I sit down at early each morning where I can rest my coffee mug nearby and open-up my iPad and click on 'My Writing' app. The best time of my day has officially begun!!  Since I require a  bit of structure in my life, following this daily routine has helped to develop solid writing habits with positive productivity.  The only break allowed is to go to the kitchen to fetch a coffee refill.  I find myself stretching my back and legs while standing at the counter.  Some authors have penned their best works while standing according to PR Daily.  They include Ernest Hemingway, Vladimir Nabokov, Phillip Roth, Lewis Carroll and Thomas Wolfe with reasoning that allows for knee problems, extreme height and, in Phillip Roth's case, pacing as he thinks while claiming to walk a half mile for every page he writes.  When studies show that sitting more than six hours a day will lead to a premature death, I can surly grasp this concept.



Lacy Shadows On A Bedroom Door

Lastly, I refer back to 'construction dust' mentioned earlier.  Yes, after successfully tackling our Master Bath a year and a half ago, the Hughes Crew is at it again!  This go-around it's a kitchen makeover with new flooring, appliances, sink and faucet all done in our 'spare time!'  Is there really such an animal, I ask?  I will keep you updated.....

According to The Free Dictionary: House, a structure serving as a dwelling for one or more persons, especially for a family.  Home, a place where one lives, offering an environment of security and happiness; a valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.

Creating Construction Dust

I've always made a distinction between a house and a home for very good reasons.  A house may be the four walls with a roof to keep the rain off your head but, it is only a structure, built to provide us with the protection from the elements that we all need.  What we all want and desire, however, is a home.....a place that, likewise, offers us protection.  But, in addition, a home wraps you in a state of being free from danger or harm.  A home cultivates the possibility of enjoying happiness by enhancing the quality of life and the values we live by within a cohesive family unit.  A home can bring its inhabitants great joy, harmony and contentment.

Growing up, most of our rental houses became our homes for the duration simply because my family lived, laughed and employed a positive attitude while living in them; our refuge as a family unit.
Today, I can joyfully recall each house I have ever resided in as a wife, mother, neighbor and friend.  They have given me such pleasure and continue to fill my heart with the satisfaction of knowing that those who enter our Home will always be welcomed and loved.

Summertime Bliss

Note: I dedicate this story and my heart to the memory of a great lady who will be forever missed and never forgotten.....May you rest in peace, Maya Angelou.


Copyright © 2014 By Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved