Sunday, February 7, 2010

Cozy @ Home: What makes a HOME Home?


What is home? A place. A feeling. Our hearts.

Contentment, peace.

The smell of a roast in the oven, or of peanut butter cookies baking.


I'm thankful for our humble home, and I realize that our home is something that lives on in my kids' hearts and their memories for the rest of their days. I hope to have given them something precious.

The feeling they had while they were here, the special times spent with their feet under our table for dinners on weeknights and special breakfasts on Saturday morning and a loaded up table on Sunday afternoon.

Here at home is a safe place, to be away from it all....to relax and to refuel for the busy days away from it's welcoming walls.

Home.

It's his boots in the entryway, signaling that one more day of work is something to be thankful for, as well as one more day of safe travel to bring him back to us.



Home means its my boy's basketball bag thrown on the floor full of sweaty clothes to wash....again, and being thankful he is healthy enough to play basketball, and happy that his coach is willing to give up time to teach and train our boys to play this wonderful team sport.




Home means it's my oldest son's shoes slipped off inside the door, another day of work is done, one more day of staying with us before he closes on and goes off to live at his very own house.




Home shows the emblems of the interests of those who live here...a hat tossed here, a sweatshirt hanging from the back of a chair...



Home means the coats hung on a peg...waiting to hug my family to warm the next time they go outside into the winter wind and snow and cold.




Home is my fridge with precious pictures of loved ones and mementos and lists held to it with magnets....the combination of which cannot be found in any other home in the country....just here, only in our kitchen.




Home is the hum of the dryer and the swoosh of the washer as it tosses the clothes and mixes them with soap and water to come magically clean in less than a half hour, all with the touch of a button. What would my great-grandma think of all this?







Home is the familiar view out the kitchen window, that changes with the seasons...





Home is noticing that my son had a little fun while he made the salad and set the table....fun that puts a smile on all of our faces....



Home is the morning's lure of the smell of toast in the toaster, coffee brewing and the start to another day, the hushed sounds of morning conversations, the chatter of the morning news going in the background, and then the quiet once they're all gone.

Home is the wag of a dog's tail and a friendly bark when the truck pulls back into the driveway right around the same time every evening.

Home is that squeak in the floor so familiar to us as we walk room to room, the way that one step or the one floorboard in the hall sounds at night as we head to our beds...


Home is a beautiful word, a condition of the heart, and a place that can always hold us close, no matter where we might be.


Our home has a soul and it's US:
family.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading your blog very much. I'm so happy to see that someone has a "scarlet and grey" coat to go with all of that blue with the big M on it. LOL. Ohio State fan here, just had to give you a little ribbing about your "colors".

Sharon

Cousin B said...

I enjoy your blog too...it inspires me to try to take mine in differnent directions. But, it really makes me feel comfy cozy! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Nicely said -- every photo too! Home is the best place to be.

Julie Harward said...

And...Home is where your heart is...and I can tell your heart is home. Mine too, I am such a homebody, no place else for me! Love this post..just wonderful! Come say hi :D

~from my front porch in the mountains~ said...

I love our home,too. Such precious things in it. My husband, our dogs,cats, and 5 horses in the barn. The barn is an extension of our home! LOL! And all the wonderful things I have in this home, most being passed down from family to us!
Joni, I love the pic of your hubbys boots. I feel the same about seeing J's boots each evening. Home, safe and secure, with all of our fur-kids!
xo, misha

Patty said...

What a beautiful post! I truly enjoy reading your blog even though I don't comment often and I think you have a beautiful home!
Have a wonderful Monday!

Patty

Anonymous said...

very useful read. I would love to follow you on twitter. By the way, did you guys know that some chinese hacker had busted twitter yesterday again.

Anonymous said...

Oh home...Do enjoy the kids while their there time goes by so fast then it's the two of you...so still, piece and quite.Just not the same..Then the grand kids bring it to life again! Home...Smiles from southern MI...Audrie

Bloggin bout my Boys said...

So nice to see you savor every bit of your family's presence in your "true-meaning-of-home" home. You also are so grateful for all the conveniences we have today yet the oldfashioned values that our past generations stood for. Think this is one of my fave posts Joni!! You take nothing for granted and it surely shows. Thanks for sharing it all. BEWARE THE FORECAST FOR TUESDAY??!!

mary your sis said...

Very sweet post, your family is very fortunate to enjoy a warm, welcoming home!
{Hugs}

Gena said...

This post brought tears to my eyes. I miss some of those things that always meant "home" to me - my husband's shoe and bag in his "spot", his clothes neatly folded. But, I still have 2 of my sweet children home with me and I have my 2 big ones home at least once or twice a month. And they ALWAYS bring laundry, which I happily do for them.

I also love your fridge and the view outside your window. My fridge is covered with photos and artwork. I wouldn't have it any other way.

English Cottage in Georgia said...

Home is certainly comfort and just being "me" or "us" in all our "non-glory".
I DO NOT miss my adult son's dirty baseball uniforms, the sand which would fall out, and the nasty smelling shoes BUT I love the memories:-)
Thanks for the the warm reminder.