finding my way back home

"Finding My Way Back Home" is one of my favorite straps even though I like the majority of the ones I have seen so far. The journey called life has had quite a few surprises in store for me so far, so I can identify with this specific Strap. When I was a small child, I was treated horribly by some family members who were never punished for it. After enduring it for about 8 years it finally ended, and a few years later when I was a teenager I confided in my mother who did not believe me. Ever since then, I felt like I did not belong. Thinking back, it must not have felt at home at all, because you are supposed to be safe and feel loved. When I met my ex-husband I started feeling at home, comfortable in my own body and feeling safe around him. These feelings followed me whenever and wherever the Army sent us and I was able to extend this homey feeling to our children. Unfortunately, bad things happened to Will while he was deployed to Iraq, so he lost "home" in his own heart. Granted, the kids and I were still there and wanted him to feel at home when being around us, but his PTSD locked him out. Years went by and we drifted apart as lovers but not as parents. We might not have given each other a place called home, but the kids still had it. So we decided to split up and still work together as parents, which we have done until this day. Two years ago our new version of "home" and family gained a new member, my boyfriend Thomas, who is very understanding of the situation. The five of us are a patchwork family and consider each other as part of "home"., so I got a "finding my way back home" strap as a reminder to always be there for one another and that no matter where we are or what life sends us, we will always be family and can count on each other. Home is not necessarily a place, but a feeling. When wearing the strap we should remember that we can depend on one another and confide in one another.