I am wondering...
What makes a home?
Is it the house, the structure itself or the things inside it.
Is it the people?
The wallpaper?
The things on a shelf.
The memories.
Pets.
Pictures on a mantle or
All of the above.
Some thoughts...
A home should be a place of retreat. A place to lay your head down when you're tired. A place to get your strength back when you're sick. A place to hide away from the world when you need a day to yourself.
Re-charge your inner being.
Rest. Relax. Re-assess.
A home can be hard to leave. It becomes a person. A real, very live thing after a few years. A home speaks to you. Surrounds you.
Protects you.
A home can be compassionate. Quietly saying- "I'll look after you".
A real home needs your loving care too. A coat of paint. A repair. A flower or bush planted in just the right place.
A home offers a sunny spot for an afternoon cup of tea and a good read from a favourite book.
A home is where friends and family gather. Your family. Your definition of family- not someone else's. A home is a wreath hanging on your front door- a welcome to one and all.
A home is where people come to visit you. To stay for a day or a week.
A home welcomes you when you have been away.
A familiar place.
Closeness.
A sense that things will be okay.
A home can be new or more than a hundred years old.
It can be an apartment in the sky, a mansion on a hill or a vehicle on four wheels.
A home sees people come and go whether friends, family or the person delivering the post to your front door.
A home says welcome. Take off your coat. I'll make you a cup of something hot to drink.
A home is the beginning to your day and a welcome when you come home after your day is done.
A home comforts you in times of grief.
Shares happy times. Makes times happy.
A home is all these things and more.
It is the special memories from a picture, an urn, a favourite chair, a crackling fireplace.
It is people and family and favourite pets. The grass outside and the bird feeder by the back door.
We all should have a home. A true home where we feel comfortable whether alone or with a house full of people who Love you. Respect you. Hold a place in your life.
Make your home wherever you may be. Sometimes it's difficult to make a new home. We can be content with what we have or we can change and start new.
All over again.
It's not always easy.
It's a big change.
Breathe.
Sometimes it's required even if your own heart questions your decision.
Changes can be challenging but eventually- one day, when the sun is shining and the birds are singing- when you least expect it, your house becomes- your home.
