Good morning, friends!  Where has the week gone?  I have been deep in thought and reflection of late, and have found it difficult to come to this space and attempt to articulate just what it is I have been mulling over in my mind.  So, I must warn you…This post may take on a very stream-of-consciousness-type nature 🙂

The past two years, when this time of year rolls around, thoughts of home seep into every thought in my mind.  Summer for our family represents such a time of connection.  Connection to each other, our home, our land.  And it just seems that each year when we reach that late-August-back-to-school-crazy-schedule-never-leaving-a-second-to-breathe time, those familiar connections are somewhat strained.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is also a wonderful sense of renewal and excitement that accompanies  this time of year, but it’s the common societal belief that this fun and excitement needs to take place outside our homes that has me thinking.  We are all a bustle with activities beyond the scope of our homes because there is this notion that our homes are confining.  But what about the idea of our homes as embracing?  Instead of looking beyond the walls of our home for fulfillment and excitement, shouldn’t we be welcoming each other into our homes, to share the love, laughter and learning found within?

Historically, the home was where all activity centered, and it seems that each day we as a culture are moving further and further beyond the home in search of the next big thing.  But I just can’t help to wonder, what if all of that greatness we are in search of is right under our noses, in the very homes that we are trying to escape from?  For often “a man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” ~George Augustus Moore