Home sweet home

On Father’s Day I was planning to spend the morning with my dad, who is my counselor, mentor, best friend and unconditional giver of love. That morning, my 2-year-old boy got up on the wrong side of the bed. He proceeded to cry, yell, and get into everything. In fact, I had to change his clothes three times before leaving the house.

As I arrived at my parents’ house, his mood did not change. His actions at my parents’ house mirrored his actions at our house earlier. After a very short visit with my dad, it was time to leave. As I got him in the car seat, in his very-limited vocabulary, he looked at me and looked me straight in the eye, “Home, Mom.” I hugged him and let him know we were heading home.

The next day, my daughter called me. She was adjusting to her summer in Colorado, but she had hit a moment in which she wanted her momma. As I talked to her and listened, her closing comment was stated softly, “Mom, I want to be home.”

I have always heard that messages come in three, and the third moment arrived Friday.

It was movie time. Going to the movies is a rare experience. With three kids at home, full time jobs, and extended family obligations, time to go to the movies does not exist during the school year. With summer here and more flexibility in our schedule, we arrived at the theater. Without saying the title (because I don’t want to ruin your experience to a great movie), the entire plot of the movie revolved around one soul’s desire to just go home and the fight he fought to go home.

It brought me to this point, home. What makes a home and why do our souls yearn to have the solace of home?

I have spent hours thinking about this question. Although many thoughts and ideas have surfaced, I find myself back at this explanation. Home is a place that gives a person that sense of belonging and total acceptance. It’s a place where you can be supported, where you can truly be yourself, where a firm foundation is laid for happiness and peace. It has made me realize the definition of home is the definition of community.

We, in Maricopa, live in a community that is taking the steps to provide those foundations for our youth. We have an abundance of individuals that have reached out to our youth and have begun the difficult work to making our community that place that we call home. We need to continue this work and remember that our community needs to be that place we yearn to be and working toward making that place the best it can be. As a member of our community and our school district, I can honestly state that we all have the deep desire to make Maricopa the place to raise our children, a place of safety, a place of acceptance and a place that supports success. I challenge each and every community member to go the extra mile this summer and make our community HOME.