It Felt Like Home

My memories of Loretta and Janet are few. They had a big impact on my life prior to my family moving away when I was 10.


Loretta: I remember days on the farm playing with her children, my second cousins. Jumping in the corn that had been harvested. Running around the barn, playing hide-n-seek.

It was a safe place. She was safe. I felt accepted and loved. It was a place of refuge. Warmth. Laughter. And for those moments in time I felt free. I could forget the pain of home.

I loved my time spent with her and her family. It felt like family. It was family.





Janet: Another special woman. Another family. Same time of my life with a similar impact on my life.

I remember spending a lot of time on their farm. Playing with the little piglets. Carefree days of playing with her children, laughing and being apart of farm life.

It was a place that, once again, I felt safe. If I sit, and close my eyes I can still feel the embrace of her mother’s arms around me. She had a lot of love to give out. I still can picture her smile.


We moved away when I was 10 and too many years would pass before seeing either of these women again. But their impact always stayed with me. Even during the hardest times of my childhood there would be times that the memory of their love would help me through.

I remember my first trip back as an adult. Now with children of my own. I was nervous. Sick to my stomach nervous. I was unsure, and questioned if I should really go. So much time had passed by.

Was love still there? Acceptance? Had I been forgotten?

But when I saw their faces. Their smiles. Felt their hugs. They still felt like family. They are family and I was home again.

Today I look back and realize how precious these two women were in my life. How precious they are today.

They were a constant in my life when there seemed to be so much uncertainty. Their love was a safe place to feel, at least for a time, everything was normal. It was good.

I am grateful that God provided these women at a time when this little girl needed nurturing and loved.

I am grateful that God has brought these memories back to remembrance. Thank you Father.