LOL 6: I have found me a home

"I Have Found Me A Home" Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
This song plays in the background as I start my first Living Out Loud entry.
Going home can be hard when coming from a "broken family". I lived in the actual Richmond City limits for the first 3 years of my life before my mom and dad moved to the suburbs of Chesterfield County in a then new subdivision of Kings Forest off of Cogbill Rd. We lived as a "happy" family there until Mom asked Dad to move out when I was 11. Mom and I continued to live there while Dad found a duplex off Iron Bridge Rd to rent. I no longer had one house; there was Mom's house and Dad's house. Eventually, Mom had to move due to finances and she rented a place off Dundas Rd. Later, Dad moved out of the duplex and into Orchardhill off Beulah Rd. He did his best to establish a relationship with me since the one we had was basically non-existent. We fixed up the house in Orchardhill by painting the inside and fixing the kitchen up a little. It was good bonding for us. The memories we made in that short time included when he helped me when I had to dump my first boyfriend, we watched the same 2-3 movies over and over and when we decorated for Christmas. Dad soon met his second wife and moved in after the wedding with her and her son into Salem Woods off Salem Church Rd. My Mom dated and wedded her second husband and moved into Mason Woods off Beulah Rd. Both prom and homecoming dances always started at this house. I also spent my last night as a single woman in that house. I stayed at both these houses until I met my future husband and I spent a good portion of the time with him, Rich and Genie at B's and Rich's apartment off Gayton Rd in West End of Henrico County. Eventually, B moved out and we got an apartment off Patterson Ave in Henrico. Two years later we were engaged, ready to be married and we bought the house where my dad and stepmom lived as they moved to a place off Kingsland Rd. Currently, we reside in Salem Woods house while my mom, dad and respective step parents live within 8 minutes of our house. At Mom's house my old bedroom has been converted into a "Man Room" for her hubby, but if we ever needed a place to stay I know I can "come home" there.
When asked where I'm from I generally say the Richmond Area, South Side or Chesterfield depending on who is asking. When we moved to the West End it was like telling people you came from some rural part of the state/country when you said you were from the other side of the River. It was my private school experience all over again. There it is was snobby kids thinking they were better than me because of where I lived and what my parents drove. Probably why I jumped at the chance for public schooling when it was given to me. Just like I jumped at the chance to not only move back to South Side right before our wedding, but into a house that was already a home to me. I consider myself very fortunate. Despite having had multiple homes, they were all that...homes.