Recently our family spent some time sorting through a few very old scrapbooks and we came across a newspaper article (probably from the early 1920’s) in my maternal grandfather’s belongings. He passed away when my mom was a very young child so I never knew him, but I found this article profound.
“But if it’s a place where, more than anywhere in the world, we would rather live, where, more than anywhere in the world, we feel that we can be ourselves and be understood – if for us it is the nearest thing to heaven on earth – it has found the formula for being a home. Yes, young lady, a home can be both clean and comfortable, both efficient and friendly, both disciplined and endearing. And when you grow up, all this please remember – for if you make and manage such a home, when comes your time to do so, you will be performing your highest mission in life. And neither the young nor the old would wander so much or stray so far, if there were more such homes.”
I’m certain that when my grandfather saved this article he was not even married yet. He did however take his role as a future husband and father very seriously based on the message in this article (and from some other items that we discovered).
Little did he know that his youngest granddaughter would take these words to heart as well. Not only in my own home, but in many of the homes I work in. I believe a home should be a haven and a resting place – “where, more than anywhere in the world, we feel we can be ourselves, be understood – if for us it is the nearest thing to heaven on earth – it has found the formula for being a home”.
I am also fully aware that “home” is a painful place for many, but I trust that this article from so many years ago will be a reminder of what home can and should be.