A photo collage containing several images of empty rooms and tables, superimposed with images of furniture from other places. A stitch pattern in bright primary colors runs around the overlapping edges.

Growing up, I was terrified of moving out of my mom’s house. I wondered how I could possibly feel anchored in any place other than the one where I’d spent my whole childhood.

In many ways, my fears were realized. Moving out felt surreal and left me disconnected. But then I realized that I had brought home with me just as surely as I had brought my body.

Stitching moments together, my familiar furniture, my old friends coming over to make a mess; it wasn’t place that made a home. Home was an effort. Home was an experience.

I carry pieces of all the homes I’ve had before. I bring them to new places. And each new home I find is colored by the love of all the past ones.