Quote 22
We laughed and drank our wine, and then after the meal, we each listed our gratitudes. My family always did that before the meal, and we all just rushed through it to get to the food. So the four of us sat around the table and shared our blessings. I was thankful for the fine food and the fine company, for having a home on Thanksgiving. "A trailer, at least," Dolores joked. (46before.2)
Thanksgiving with the Colonel reminds Miles of Thanksgiving with his parents. What exactly is it about the experience that makes it feel like home for Miles? (Hint: Think about rituals and traditions.)
Quote 23
I sat in the back of the hatchback on the drive home—and that is how I thought of it: home—and fell asleep to the highway's monotonous lullaby. (46before.7)
Miles moves from one home to another. What makes Culver Creek a home to him? What about the place, the people, the traditions, and the emotions create a sense of home to Miles?
Quote 24
Screw this, I thought, and for the first time, I imagined just going back home, ditching the Great Perhaps for the old comforts of school friends. (13after.36)
Ultimately Miles chooses to stay at the Creek, but he thinks about the comforts of home and how they are both welcome but also limiting. So now we have to think about what home means to Miles by the end of the novel.