Photo-heart connection, August 2013

"Home is a name, a word,

it is a strong one; stronger than

magician ever spoke, or spirit ever

answered to, in the strongest conjuration."

- Charles Dickens

{KK traverse}

I went home this summer, to the area where I grew up and although it wasn't to the house I grew

up in, it was home none the less. Or more like home away from home after being gone for over twenty years.

And, in going home, there have been a handful of addresses between childhood and my visit this summer to see my mom. In fact, I saw her new place for the first time. 

And you know what? 

Even though this was my first visit to this new address it felt just like home...instantly.

Because even though the street name or city may have changed, the contents have not.

Oh sure, there may be a few things missing and a few things added in their places, but the memories 

regardless of where home is haven't changed.

And even though things are arranged differently or moved to different rooms, she has the same beautiful, yet simple style, and no doubt any style I have I got from her.

This photo reminds me that home isn't as much about a physical place, but about the people who come back to the table. And that's just what we did on a Sunday afternoon over a family tradition of homemade egg noodles (made my moi).

Yes, home is wherever the heart is.

It's a strong word indeed, one made of bricks, and not one easily blown down by the winds of change.

Miss ya mommy!

Love, Kim

P.S. I'm still gathering myself from the college drop off and finishing up an online jewelry class

(I hope to have some fun things to share with you)

Linking up with Texture Tuesday, Tuesday Muse, Photo-Heart Connection

Look down long enough . . .

. . . and you may lose your sense of direction.
Unless you are surrounded by a field of aromatic lavender, which is not a bad thing, but . . .

{Kim Klassen textures, kkred in hardlight and kkwarm sun in overlay}

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people;

and, of course, as long as you're looking down,

you can't see something that's above you."

- C. S. Lewis

Today, I'm hurting, feeling a bit angry, and a lot perplexed. I know this isn't something

I normally share here but I promised myself that I was going to be authentic when I started this blog.

And occasionally I need to stray from the candy store, because well, life isn't always sweet.

To quote my daughter from a paper she wrote: " Is it at all hypocritical that the the thing that confuses me in life is my own species? You would think that, being a human, I would understand them. But really, humans are the most inconsistent beings I have ever seen." Honestly, I wonder the same thing at times.

Life, between all the beautiful moments is just hard sometimes. Sometimes people make it harder. Sometimes those people aren't the ones you can choose, but the ones that you cannot.

You see, this weekend on facebook I saw a picture of my nephew. He turned 2. It was the first time

I had ever seen him, and it was a picture, on facebook from someone who is not related to him. And in all

honesty I thought I had come to terms with the fact that my brother, for a reason I do not know, does not include me in his life. But it got me, like an arrow in the heart and not the kind from cupid.

Right now, my brother is that proud man, who is unfortunately looking down on things and people.People I love very much.  My nephew is missing out on all the things his father is not looking at above him. I can't help but wonder how he will feel about that when he is older.

And quoting from her again, "Even if you look among your peers, your family even, you will see that all of you are completely different. No two people are the same, but yet we all share a common trait. We all live on this Earth, we all have souls and we all feel pain, happiness, heartbreak, joy. Why do other humans feel the need to cause someone just like them pain and suffering?" Well, that's the million dollar question for which I will gladly take a 2 cent answer.

You know, if you walk long enough with your head down I'm pretty sure at some point you will hit a brick wall. And I can think of only a few reasons why one would really need to look down anyway . . . when you come across a beautiful field of lavender (of course), to avoid stepping in the (BS) from the proud man in front of you, and while in Texas to avoid stepping in a pile of fire ants!

Oh, but most importantly,

"Never look down on anybody, unless your helping him up"

-Jesse Jackson

Love, Kim

XO

P.S. - come back next week, I'll be sharing more on that lavender field . . . happy thoughts only! ; )