It’s easy to take our surroundings for granted and forget how big a role they play in our family’s life

Point of Focus

There’s no place like home

What This Means

It’s easy to take our surroundings for granted and forget how big a role they play in our family’s life. Often, the physical space contributes to the way we run our homes or to the overall family dynamics. Taking the time to notice the details of our actual home can shine a light on specific aspects of our current reality and our growth as a family.

To Do

This week, capture something about your home that reflects the stage you’re in right now. Think about your daily or weekly routine, and take a picture of the room or space where that  often take place. Or find a detail you want to remember years from now, something that will quickly bring you back to this time in your life. You could address this narrative to your children and husband as a unit, or to an individual child if it speaks specifically about him or her.

You can include one of your children in the picture or just the room you want to remember. You can list a specific activity or a general feeling about the room and what happens there. You may want to take a picture of something outdoors, like the front of your home. Think of places that play a significant role in your life right now and turn your lens to them.

• I didn’t really like our kitchen when we first moved in. It was dark and ugly and old, and I felt it needed some life infused into it. I believe our family gave it that life. Somehow, I’ve grown accustomed to the 1950s cabinetry. Maybe it’s because so much has happened in this room. This is the place you learned to bake and cook, it’s the room we gather after each long day, sit down to do homework and eat a snack. It’s the room to turn up the music or scrounge around the fridge. It’s become the center of our home, and though the cabinets haven’t changed, we certainly have.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 753)