Home Sanctuary: You Belong Here

My husband and son have been out of town for over a week, which means....

I have been alone.

For days.

Many people might dread such a scenario - all alone in the country, with no one but Flash and Penny (my donkey and his live-in girlfriend) to keep me company. But I have enjoyed nearly every minute of the solitude. Yes, it's a little creepy at night, but I know where the shotgun is and I'm not afraid to use it if I need to. You think I'm kidding.

My days have been filled with work, and home maintenance and writing and (I can't lie), Netflix. (I discovered the series, "Longmire" and now have a new crush.)

I've had plenty to keep me busy, but knowing that my boys are nearing home I'm asking myself, "what will really make them feel great when they come through that door?"

What will communicate to them,

You Belong Here.

See the truth is, Tom probably won't really care if I got another chapter finished in my book or if I designed a new art piece to sell. I mean, he'd care, but that wouldn't make him feel necessarily loved and cared for.

No, the thing that would mean the most to him is.....

if the driveway was weed-free when he got home.

Oh Lawd. Weeding the driveway. It's my least favorite job of all time, on the planet, in the universe. I swear.

I hate weeding the gravel area. It is impossibly hard and hot and discouraging. And did I mention, hot? That Texas sun will cook ya.

But Tom will light up like a Christmas tree when he sees how far I got. It's almost done. It's been back-breaking and tedious....all those clumps of grass hanging on for dear life when I pull on them. The ground is hard, the rocks hurt my fingers, half of the weeds don't come up. Ugh.

But I've done it...for him.

Because he belongs here. And he belongs to me. And I want him to know that I don't care about how hard or how long or how much I hate weeding....I only care about making him feel loved.

If you think about it, communicating "You Belong Here" is the whole point of creating sanctuary. Feeling loved and "at home" means that your soul is welcomed, that you are accepted, and that those around you "get" what makes you tick. I "get" my husband's need for order. His need to see things tidied up. I "get" that I have to work hard to see the things that drive him crazy - so often I miss them in my lah-dee-dah dream world - and it takes personal sacrifice on my part to honor his needs.

Today's Small Thing is to communicate "You Belong Here." You choose the "who" and the "how."

Think about what makes your loved one tick. What delights him? Or what makes your child's eyes light up? If you're stumped, perhaps think of the things that drive that person crazy, and then figure out how to solve a problem for him. And sometimes it's good to come right out and ask, "What can I do for you that will really make you feel loved?"

Because feeling loved = belonging. And there's no better place to belong than home.

Hey, you've got some great people who belong to you. Show them how glad you are that they are yours.