HOUSE vs HOME

1-6-10...WHAT MAKES A HOUSE A HOME

There are so many differences between a house and a home. A home has to be full of people but that's not enough. There has to be love, understanding, respect, closeness, etc.
I had a friend once who lived alone with her Mother. Her name was Pamela. She was beautiful. I was only 8 but I knew she was beautiful. Like a little China doll with clear blue eyes and beautiful curly blond hair. Pam always had money to spend at the school candy store. She had the most frilly beautiful clothes I had ever seen. And Pam had something else that was more important which was a loving spirit. Pam came home with me lots of evenings from school and spent the night, sometimes two or three nights. She loved to come to my home. I didn't really understand that because we didn't have a inside bathroom or any other of the conveniences that Pam had at her home. Pam lived in a big white house with tall pillars, a wrap around porch with big chairs and flowers all over. Her room inside that house was all pink and fluffy with stuffed animals and everything that a little girl could ever imagine wanting. Yet Pam wanted to be at my house. I was never at her home except for a few times. I didn't really understand why I wasn't invited.
One day Pam told me that she wanted me to come to her house after school. I told her that I couldn't go without asking first so I'd have to wait until the next day. Pam told me that she never had to ask, she just came when she wanted to and stayed as long as she wanted to. The next day Mamma said I could ride the school bus home with Pamela and stay a while and play but that I couldn't stay all night. She said my Daddy would come and get me before dark. I didn't really mind not getting to stay the night. The only place I wanted to stay the night was at Brenda's.
We got off the bus the next evening and walked up the lane to Pamela's house. We couldn't get in. Pamela rang the doorbell over and over then she started hollering for her Mamma to come open the door. No one came and I was scared. I told Pam that I wanted to go home. Of course it was too far to walk so I was stuck. Pam said don't worry my Mom will let us in after a while. That I didn't understand. It was cold and if Pam's Mom was in the house why did she lock Pam out.
About an hour later , which seemed a lot longer, the door was finally opened and her Mom was standing there looking terrible I thought. She was in a robe and looked like she had just gotten up. As soon as she opened the door she started cursing Pam and slapped her. She said “Pam I have told you over and over not to keep knocking on the door when it is locked”. I told her to leave Pam alone because my Daddy would be there soon and she better not be slapping her when he got there. She pushed Pam in the door and shut it in my face. It wasn't long till my Daddy got there. I ran and told him what had happened. He put me in the car and told me to stay there. He knocked on the door but no one ever came. Daddy was mad but all he could do was to keep me away from Pam's house. The law wasn't even thought of . Back then that was the way of it. The law did not interfere in family matters.
Pam didn't come to school the next day or the next. When she came back a man was with her. They got all Pam's things out of her desk and I never saw her again. I have no idea where they went or who the man was but the big fine house had a for sale sign on it soon after that.
It was years later that I figured out what might have happened but I don't know and Mamma and Daddy never would tell me if they knew.
That was when I understood that I had a warm loving home but Pam just lived in a big fine house. Quiet a difference. Yep and a good difference.