Home is Where Mom Is
As a flight attendant for 35+ years, we moved around quite a bit. I’ve been based in New York, Boston and Detroit. We lived in Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco before moving back to Pittsburgh and settling in. Of course, now I am dividing my time between Paris and the US. Amber, my daughter, and I talk just about every day. Sometimes it’s important and sometimes we share random thoughts. One of those times when we’re talking about places we have lived and about home, she told me that she always felt that home is wherever Mom is. It really touched my heart and made me think how profound that statement truly is. I have always tried to provide a home for my family. As important as travel is in my life, so is having a place to call home. I love to cook and decorate. I also like to entertain close friends and family. Creating a home brings me joy.
Amber’s comment made me realize that home can be anywhere. Home is where you make it and with whom you share that space. Comfort, love, warmth make a home. It can be grand or tiny. Home is us. Home is all of us.
I believe that we have forgotten to just be in a quiet space, like home. The need for constant stimulation and excitement isn’t healthy for humans. Staying busy all the time is not the answer. Making money to the point of exhaustion is unhealthy. Of course, we need finances to keep being able to exist, but not to the point that it runs our lives. Work is a means to an end. It’s helpful if you can love what you do but sometimes that isn’t how life works. So at times we have to make the best of what cards are dealt to us.
Boundaries and saying no is also important. Especially for women. No should be an active part of our vocabulary. We need to know when we’ve had enough. When to stop and breathe. It’s okay if we step back from our roles as caregivers, housekeepers, managers, CEOs and moms for a reprieve. As I have said so many times before, we can’t pour from an empty vessel. My family will always come before anything else. And by family I mean my inner circle, which includes blood family as well as adopted family. I will not, however, stretch myself beyond my abilities. I can and often do say no. My hope is for that, I am respected. As I step further into my role as the matriarch of our family, I will continue to make a home for all of us. If that looks a bit non-traditional to some, then so be it. We adapt as our world changes. With those changes, so may the definition of home. What will never change for me is my love for my people. After all, home is where mom is, and I am mom.
Home
