“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” Maya Angelou (American Poet, b.1928)

They say that home is where the heart is, a safe place, where you can just be who you are and have people understand and love you. For some people, home is a place, for others, it is a person. Like a nest, home is where we begin, the place from which we launch out into the world to try our wings. I have come to a place in my life where a peaceful home is one of the things I cherish the most. After all the nicks and cuts and terrors and complaints and toil of the day, it is good to be able to breathe the free air.

I remember going to my Grandma’s house as a little girl. She would give me chocolate milk with a special straw cup, scrambled eggs with real butter, Honey Nut Cheerios, and she would serve her store-bought assortment of Mother’s cookies on a silver tray. She had special embroidered guest towels and a special dining nook where I would pull the curtains around myself and play under her table like a fort. I even remember the smell of the wooden table legs and the carpet. She had a special cabinet that always held coloring books and Play-Doh. I miss my grandma very much. Being at her house always felt like home.

I want to be that safe place for my kids, whether I live in a colonial style mansion or a little apartment; I want to be the caretaker of that safe place they can always go to breathe and just be. Not everyone is blessed with a safe place, but all of us can BE a safe place. Think of those things that you treasure or wish you had had back then all those years ago growing up. Be the one who gives comfort, not always the one who takes it. The world needs more safe places, and more givers, after all.

“All good things arrive unto them that wait – and don’t die in the meantime” Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

I have found as a parent that many of the things I wished for growing up, I can still have in my life on the giving side. I can laugh in company while watching cartoons. I can enjoy baking cookies or making banana splits. I cannot become a child again, but I am getting the gift of seeing what so many of my unspoken wishes are like up close and personal.

You cannot give a hug without getting a hug back….eventually. 🙂 Every time you give to someone, you also benefit. You will receive a little measure of happiness every time you put someone else first. Don’t just be the little blue bird egg, safe, secure and protected, be the nest and help someone else to grow.

 Answer me when I call to you,
    my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
    have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
    How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.

Tremble and do not sin;
    when you are on your beds,
    search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
    and trust in the Lord.

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
    Let the light of your face shine on us.

Fill my heart with joy
    when their grain and new wine abound.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.  Psalm 4: 1-8

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