I investigate here the personal and professional significance of "literate dwelling"--that is, processes whereby individuals learn to acquire and use literacy within initial spaces and times of comfort in order both to move beyond such comfort and to promote productive change in the larger world. Such significance became especially clear to me during a return to my alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and my adopted hometown, Champaign, IL, during one particular week in April 2014. Aided by work from Nedra Reynolds, Julie Lindquist, Kevin Roozen, and others, I analyze the ways in which three events that took place during this particular week--a successful academic homecoming of sorts, an unexpected reunion with a former musical group, and a welcoming of a new family member into the world--have helped me to understand how literate dwelling experiences from as long as twenty years ago continue to shape my present life in profound ways. Furthermore, I argue that narrative reflection on the effects of literate dwelling, both long-term and short-term, can help us to understand, theorize, and cultivate worthwhile life-making over time and across spaces and domains.