Sunday afternoon at home

I wrote a story once about our home, trying to express my feelings about the joy it gives me to be here, and the power of influence a home can have on anyone who walks in its doors. I sent this little story to a home magazine and got back a letter that said (in essence) that it was the "corniest" piece that they had ever received. From that I simply surmised that they had never been happy at home and didn't have a clue what I was talking about.

Goethe said "He is happiest, king or peasant, who finds happiness in his home." Today has been one of those "finding happiness" days for me. Phil and I watered and did a "10 minute tidy" in the garden. Butterflies swarmed the flowers as I lined up our first pumpkins on the picnic table, admiring them like grandchildren in a school pageant.

Someone said that fall is the best sniffing season, and today I sniffed to my heart's content that special smell that only fall can waft. After a shower and a great lunch of left-overs, we grabbed our books and snuggled down to read and "rest." We call it rest, but really it is drifting into a very deep and welcomed nap that can last for hours. We've pretty much got this rest thing down to a science. I awoke to the long-awaited sound of little splashes of rain in the old birdbath outside the window on my side of the bed. RAIN! we have prayed for it, and I nearly slept through it!

Home is where these very small everyday occurrences take on a much larger significance. These are the moments you need to squeeze all the joy from. I read today that home must not be just comfortable, but comforting. I take that statement to heart and challenge anyone who may happen upon this little "ode to home" to thrill at the possibilities of this truth.

I see that loving my home puts me in very good company:

"I had rather be on my farm at home than be the emperor of the world." George Washington

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." Jane Austen

"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones--the ones at home." Mother Teresa