This past weekend, I met our family friends, Enrique and Blanca, here in Dublin. I´ve known them all my life; this was their first time in Ireland. I was looking forward to seeing them; we spent an evening together (thanks, guys!), and I also had the pleasure of showing them our house.
The thing is, when it comes to showing the house, the same thing usually happens to me (though I think I´m starting to get over it, or at least I hope so): I begin to make comparisons with the expectations in my head, or what I think other people´s expectations are, and then I start to think that the house could be cleaner, tidier, better organized, have better furniture, better interior design, etc., etc., etc.
So, before we get there, I feel the need to lower their expectations, and I explain that it´s not one of those beautiful houses you can show to visitors but a functional house to live in, and also, because children are living here, there´s a certain level of untidiness. People usually respond by downplaying the topic, saying things like, "Do you call this untidy? Then you should see my house.", which I feel grateful for. But the answer I got today was so much better, it was brilliant, I loved it:
"So then, what you have is not a house; it´s a home."
And they´re right, it´s true. My house is indeed very cosy and welcoming, and very comfy in its own particular way. It´s not by any means luxurious, but it is nice and spacious. It´s a place where one can relax and feel comfortable. And where anybody who comes in is not treated as a "visitor" but as one more member of the household.
Our house. Our home. Where we can be ourselves, recharge batteries, rest and enjoy.
I searched for quotes related to this topic, and leaving aside many clichés that I´m not going to repeat here, here are three phrases that caught my attention:
Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms.
William J. Bennett
The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back.
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