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The Arsonist


One of our most elegant and engrossing novelists at her inimitable best.
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Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

Created: 07/27/14

Replies: 6

Posted Jul. 27, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

Frankie describes the house in Pomeroy as "no more her home than the Connecticut house had been." Do you feel that children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?


Posted Jul. 28, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
beckyh

Join Date: 05/08/11

Posts: 113

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

Sometimes children who move from place to place have NO concept of HOME. I have several friends who grew up with missionary parents who lived in several different countries as children and teens. All of them have expressed the feeling of being rootless, not "American", not "African", not "Mexican," not anything. Only when they have children of their own do they express a knowledge of "HOME."


Posted Jul. 29, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
judyw

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 70

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

My two grown children are Air Force "brats". We moved every 3 or 4 years to different cities and countries. The moves, the new situations, the immersion in various cultures only enriched their lives. The fluidity of their lives was our family--we were always together. I think moving and new adventures are what you make of them. Their perception of the world is so much broader and deeper than peers who always lived in the same place. BTW, both my children are very stable and secure adults, each a contributing member of their communities.


Posted Jul. 31, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
christinep

Join Date: 07/16/13

Posts: 45

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

The old adage, "home is where the heart is", may seem corny but I think its true. We had lots of corporate job transfers in our early married life and we moved all over the country. Our kids thought that was normal and that it was an adventure. We loved exploring our new home. I guess it comes down to attitude.


Posted Aug. 01, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kenanr

Join Date: 02/20/14

Posts: 41

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

Having moved a lot growing up, our concept of home had far less to do with the house and far more to do with the stuff inside. My mother was excellent at unpacking and getting the pictures up and the rooms set and then it was HOME. I think that kids who move a lot either become extroverts or introverts. It felt to me like the 2 sisters were archetypes of those 2 possibilities.


Posted Aug. 18, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliaa

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 276

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

I can't answer from my own experience, but it seems to me that such children may have not only a more fluid concept of home (e.g., home is about family, not a physical structure) but they may be more flexible in other areas of their lives, since they have had to be adaptable from an early age. On the other hand, they may spend adulthood seeking a sense of permanence they never had as children.


Posted Aug. 20, 2014 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jeann

Join Date: 11/14/11

Posts: 56

RE: Do children who grow up moving from one place to another have a more "fluid" concept of home?

When I think of home, I think of where I grew up. The same neighbors were there my whole childhood. People were not as mobile then..(in the 50's). Generally, they seemed to keep the same jobs and the same houses. I have good memories of the years growing up the same neighborhood. There was stability there.
When I grew up and married, I went away from home for the first time and lived out of state. After having children, we moved around quite a bit. I think that there were fond memories made in each place we lived. I think "home" can be wherever you are with your family or friends. The memories of home aren't the houses we lived in, but the time we spent together as a family.


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