Creating home...

One of the things I love about our house is that when people visit they stay longer than they intended.  Some days that is the exact thing I dislike about our house too.  Mostly, though, I love it.  I love that my house is homey and comfortable. That dinner around the table is always able to accommodate another plate or two and that everybody pitches in to clean up afterward.  I love the concept of family and I think it partially because of my experiences in the military.  We can disassemble and reassemble our house and have the same feeling because it's the people that make the home not the place. 

I was talking with my brother about what I hoped to impart/accomplish/teach/do for Sarah since she was living with us.  He talked about financial planning and money management. He talked about schooling and jobs.  I want to mentor her in all of those things but I realized during our conversation that the single most important thing to me is creating home.  I don't want to step into my moms shoes in her life, for the same reason that I want nobody else to step into them in my life.  They don't need to be filled.  What I do want for her is to create a place that is hers forever. A place that can hold her history and anchor her future.  When she is ready to go off to college I want her room to remain ready for her return.  When she is ready to step out on her own I want her wings to spread because her roots are safe.  I tend to over think, shocking I know, and I am probably putting too much energy into this whole thing but I am trying to pinpoint exactly what this new family dynamic will look and feel like.