House or Home

I have been thinking a lot about our house lately. Since the hurricane, the damage to our humble abode has occupied more time than I would like. I am thinking about the roof, the ceilings and the multiple other repairs. Yuck. Yet, I cannot and certainly should not complain. At least, I have a shelter to stay in and a dry bed to sleep on while there are still lots of people on cots in the local schools. For many hurricane victims, they not only lost their house, the structure itself, but they lost their home. So what is the difference between house and home?

When I look around the rooms in my house, I see memories and treasures. There are photos in carefully selected frames. There are scrapbooks which I designed and created of our families. They are visual stories through pictures, letters and documents of years gone by and they would come with us if we ever evacuate. They make our house a home.

In the rooms throughout the house, there are collections of paintings and prints, china and glassware that I treasure because they were gifts from special people. Some are literally over 100 years old because they were handed down from generation to generation. They could not be replaced, but they would remain if we had to leave quickly because you just have so much room in the car. Leaving them behind would be tough because they make our house a home

So this week as you continue with putting back your house after the storm and cleaning up after the repairs, remember it is not just things, but the memories they evoke and the relationships they represent what really makes the house a home.

A thought for today….what makes your house a home?.

Photo source: Pinterest