I’ve been thinking lately just what makes a house a home. I mean – you say things like ‘It’s good to be home’ and ‘I can’t wait until I get home’ – but why don’t you say stuff like ‘It’s good to be back to this house’. It just doesn’t sound right does it?
Well the reason that I was thinking about this was because of what I saw on the way home from work this week. I even stopped and turned around to check it out again and snap a quick picture. 
Now granted this little house when it was standing had the chimney leaning more to the right than any Republican that I know, and the sides of the house .. well they weren’t good at all. But still it was someone’s home at one time wasn’t it? About 28 years ago I was just starting to sell Tupperware and this was one of the houses that I went to and did my sales pitch. And if I remember correctly – it was an awesome party! But time had taken it’s toll on this little house and maybe it needed to be put out of it’s misery. It was too small for today’s standard of houses because I’m sure that there isn’t an open concept floor plan or a chef’s kitchen in it either. So maybe it was time.
But that led me to think about our house and when do you stop thinking it as just a house and it becomes a home? I had heard the best compliment from one of our kids some time back. I was cooking in the kitchen and since we live in a farm house, when you walk into our house you walk straight into the kitchen. I’m not sure what I had in the oven and I’m sure there was something on the stove cooking when he came into the room. I apologized that it smelled and he said that it smelled really good and it smelled like he was home. See.. kinda cool right?
So as I’m thinking about the little house that looks more like a missing tooth on the landscape than anyone’s home, and I thought about all the things what makes our house into our home. Is it when you open the front door you have about 1 second (or less!) before 2 little orange kitties are rubbing against your leg inside the house? Or how about the neighbor that spends about an hour at your kitchen table having a beer with you to explain what his plans are for his farm this upcoming year? Could it be that when you get packages delivered that you’ve ordered – it’s like Christmas because they’re on your kitchen table when you get home from work? Or how about when you are done with a long week and you sit down in the living room and see the peacocks looking at you from outside the french doors and realize that even though the stuff decorating your rooms don’t really match and you have peacocks staring at you .. well life’s not perfect. But for now, you really wouldn’t want it any other way.
I got a birthday email yesterday from someone and both her and her husband have been gone for these past couple of months visiting friends in a much warmer climate than Iowa. They’ve been doing just tons of fun things and are planning to go on a cruise before they are heading back to colder weather. Now even though I’m positive that they are having the best time ever, at the end of the letter she mentioned that it will be ‘good to get back home’.
I believe the saying is true: There is no place like home.