There's No Place Like Home

We have been home from vacation 10 days.  "Home" is a big word.  A wonderful word.  I enjoyed our time on the road and would do it all again-but right now my heart and mind are focused on home.  Watching our youngest in full melt down for the last 4 days of our trip, it became clear how much security and comfort being home gives.  Up until this time I have lived by the saying "home is in a mother's arms".   I felt as long as we were all together we would be home.   I still believe being together is the most important security factor for children, but I have a new appreciation for the house we live in.  It makes the feeling of home tangible for children, it's familiar, and routine.  Of course not every house is a home.  It makes me sad to think about the children who live in houses without security and stability and how they are often labeled as "difficult children".  Those last few days of traveling I began to wonder if my daughter had been taken over by hostile aliens.  A few times it was like a scene from a horror movie with her tantrums being so intense I thought she may levitate-and her screams were those of a soprano banshee!
Now that we are home my focus has been to provide a home where children are nurtured and nourished.   It's like a nesting instinct.  I have been super busy; cleaning, rearranging, baking, sorting, shopping etc... On the trip I was selfish and I chose to deal with the consequences, after all it isn't everyday I am at Mt. Rushmore.  As parents we make those exceptions.  Seeing the effect it had on the girls made me realize we are all happier when I put mothering first.  Focusing on and meeting their needs- as I am modeling and equipping them to meet their own, actually creates more space for myself.   Time invested in my family creates secure little people who are not misbehaving to get some attention.
I'll be posting soon on some of the projects I have been doing around the house to make it the perfect place for us.