People Who Feel Like Home 💕

Last week was my birthday, and all day my phone kept lighting up with messages from people I care about.

Some I see often. Some I rarely see. Some have known me for decades.

And it made me think about the last few weeks.

Three weeks ago, I bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand because I needed to go home.

I didn’t know how long I’d be there or quite what the weeks ahead would look like. I just knew I needed to be with my family.

What followed was an unexpected few weeks of hospitals, worry, family, waiting, cups of tea, long drives — and precious time with both Mum and Dad that I hadn’t expected to have.

But something else happened while I was there.

I reconnected with people from different parts of my life. Friends and family I might not see for months or even years — yet somehow, within minutes of being together, it felt as though no time had passed at all.

You know those people?

The ones who just see YOU.

I’ve lost around 25 kilos since some of them last saw me. And the funny thing was, a few barely noticed.

Because they hadn’t really noticed me gaining it either.

And I found that strangely beautiful.

Because to them, I wasn’t the woman who gained weight.

I wasn’t the woman who lost 25 kilos.

I was just Wendy.

The same person they had always known.

There was no before-Wendy and after-Wendy. No explanation required. No catching up on who I’d become before we could simply be together.

And I think those are the people who feel like home.

The people you can arrive in front of exactly as you are.

Tired. Happy. Worried. Changed. Unchanged. Ten kilos heavier or twenty-five kilos lighter.

And somehow, they still recognise you.

Coming home after those three weeks — and then seeing so many familiar names pop up on my phone for my birthday — reminded me just how lucky I am to have people like that scattered throughout my life.

My people.

The ones who feel like home. 💕

Who are yours?

Who is the person you can see after months or years apart, walk through the door and simply be you?

Maybe today is a good day to tell them. 💕