“But friendship is precious; not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine.”
~Thomas Jefferson
When Angel and Becky asked me to blog for Wilson Living’s web site the idea was to blog about all things home. Things such as décor, design, organization, traditions, building- any and all things that would fall into this category. Blogging about these topics is fun to me and very easy since it is what I do for a living. So I entitled my blog “Coming Home.” But this week I have to digress, just a bit, to tell you about my true Home-Coming.
We all get so caught up in our own little spin that sometimes the outside world just seems to pass us by. Run here, run there- work, work, work. We all have very different lives, but really we are all so alike. As the song ‘Do Everything’ sung by Steven Curtis Chapman says, “You may be hooking up mergers, or cooking up burgers,” but at the end of the day we all share the same struggles and joys.
My family and I have been very blessed in the fact that we’ve never really had any major health issues. When we were told a couple of weeks ago that my husband would have to have open heart surgery, immediately, it nearly knocked us to our knees. What followed the next week was a very scary time for all of us, but I’m happy to say everything is well.
I’ve always been on the other side of this kind of event. “Sure, let me help….I’ll take a pie, pick up the kids, get the mail, just let me know and I’ll be there!” It is just what we southerners have been raised to do. I’m writing this to tell you that you cannot imagine how it feels to be on the receiving end of such giving. It has made me realize how incredible a simple act of taking someone dinner, visiting at the hospital, or sending a card really is. I’ve done all these things in the past, just as all of you reading this have. However small the act may seem to you at the time, trust me; you may never truly know the impact it has.
I hope you never are on the receiving end of this type of giving- but if you are, you will have your own Home-Coming moment just as I have. My moment, realization, whatever you want to call it is this.
Life is not an emergency.
Slow down. Have that cup of coffee with a friend that you keep promising to do, but never make time for. (For me, this will be with Lisa Mutz Elms!) Call that relative you haven’t seen in forever to say hello. Tell your friends and family just how much they mean to you. Whatever it is, just make time for it. Realize that it is the people in your life that make your home your refuge.
If you have a life pausing event as we did, you will be amazed at the support you will receive. That’s the wonderful thing about making our home here in the south…where traditions hold true, manners are always expected, and dinners will always be delivered during crisis. All these things make “Coming Home” wonderful.
Tip: Visit the web site www.thank-you-note-samples.com to learn how to write a proper thank you note. This is something that should be taught to every child and practiced as soon as you are old enough to write. I am blessed to say I will be writing many in the coming days.