It shocks me to realize that it’s already August. My summer has whizzed past, mostly because I’ve spent fewer days at home than I have on the road.
34577862 – pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa downtown skyline.
I’m currently typing from Pittsburgh, where I’m visiting family before I leave here to drive to Hilton Head Island for an annual extended-family vacation.
While I thoroughly enjoyed my research trip to Portland, Oregon, and had a fabulous, productive work trip to California for the Romance Writers of America convention, I love coming home to Pittsburgh to reconnect with my family and old friends.
No one would call Pittsburgh and exotic or even beautiful location. When I look out the window, I don’t see a glittering ocean or majestic mountain range. 
But it doesn’t matter. The familiar sights and smells take me back in time and make me smile. I no longer remember all the street names, but I do remember how to get everywhere. And there isn’t anywhere else in the world where I’ve ever tasted a better hoagie! (If you don’t know what a hoagie is, come to Pittsburgh, and if you make it here, go to Danny’s in South Park for the gold standard Italian hoagie).
Some things have changed (the skyline, the stadiums), but some things remain the same (my mom’s house). I suppose that is how everyone feels about home, and no matter where I ever live, Pittsburgh will always be “home.”
Where’s your home?
XO-Jamie
