Sweet thoughts for a fall night

Last month's Real Simple asked readers to write in and answer the question, "What does home mean to you?"

I sat on my couch last month reading with delight because so many of these rang true to me.  They reminded me of the way two people can nearly touch across a page--writer and reader understanding each other, and nodding in agreement.

Here were a few of my favorites:

"A warm bed that you can't get out of in the morning, a tiny pink toothbrush in the bathroom, and the sound of my husband's key in the door at the end of the day." --Dena Nilsen

"Home is the smell of my husband's neck, right below his ear." -- Shawnee Jones-Bonnette

"Home is where my younger brother can't understand why a boy would stop liking me."  --Emma Button

"As the saying goes, home is where the mom is." -- Valerie Warner