Turning our house into a home

House Vs. Home?

It is said that home is where the heart is.  I do believe this, but what makes a house a home?  What makes the heart be there? Is it the pitter-patter of baby steps or of pet paws, or a family heirloom, a certain someone or painting?  To everyone the response might be somewhat different. 

As previously mentioned our four-person family has uprooted from New York to North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic.   My husband and father of our two very active boys is an essential worker still based in New York, so he has not been with us in North Carolina but for some short trips.  So turning our house into a home is somewhat more difficult than one would hope.  Of course, the first thing our house will need to become a home is all four of us together permanently under this new roof.  Secondly, it is our stuff to fill the rooms, and our laughter to fill the air.  

The boys and I have been hanging out for the past five weeks doing things as normally as possible.  No trips to the stores but taking neighborhood walks and pacing our empty home.  I have come particularly comfortable with online shopping and trying to find fun unique items to fill our home. 

After spending a small fortune, some rooms are coming together, but yet still not that warm and cozy comfy that you would want for your home.  I had ordered a mattress and bed frame for the master bedroom, new loft beds for the boys, some funky cabinets to use as nightstands, and cool barstool seats for the breakfast counter.  But still felt like something was not right.  We spent 5 weeks sitting on the floor watching TV in our living room, the boys loved the space to play and roll and run, so as much as I missed having a couch, I really wasn’t too focused on the fact there wasn’t one. 

As furniture and odds and ends started arriving, being unboxed and unwrapped, we started seeing the house somewhat come together.  But it wasn’t until the family room and loft couches appeared that it suddenly felt like home. As soon as the delivery men placed them in order the boys settled into them and sat, quietly.  

I walked around the house and all of a sudden it happened.  Warmth fell over me and as if I couldn’t wait for my husband to be with us before, now with a completed family room I truly realized the void we had.  

So to all out there.  Take the time to sit back and find your heart to your home.  Ours to me are my three men, a cozy room for us to settle in and a story to start.   I can see us sitting here and enjoying the silence or a movie together.  The boys bringing their friends over or building forts out of the three thousand pillows that came with the sectional sofa.  In this world of chaos, please remember to keep your house a home and love near to your heart.