Gift of Home

Is there any place in the world more important to our well-being than our own homes?

I’ve never actually considered this exact question before. Often, our homes are something we take for granted (if we are blessed enough to have a home to call our own). Perhaps we’ve lived in the same house or apartment for years. We clean our homes, maintain them to keep them safe and livable, and paint a wall or replace the flooring once in a while. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know I should make a conscious effort more often to feel gratitude for my own home.

We’ve been in the same house for over twenty-five years. I know some things could benefit from updates: the kitchen countertops are functional but are starting to show some wear and tear (kind of like me!). One particular door handle keeps breaking, despite my husband’s ongoing efforts to fix it. The wall going down the stairs could use a fresh coat of paint. But most days, I don’t even notice those small issues. We’re too busy living life to pay much attention.

A home is so much more than the physical shell. It should be our safe haven from the outside world. It’s where we eat, sleep, share time with loved ones, and build precious memories. It doesn’t matter if the dwelling is large or small, modest or fancy. What matters is who we share it with and how we feel when we are there.

I know I speak to the topic of home in my blog quite often. I just went back to check, and this will be my second blog post titled “Gift of Home.” I’ve now written eighty-four blog posts in all (which I can hardly believe), and blog post #2 in November of 2017 was also specific to home and what it means to each of us. When I wrote that blog post, our kids were starting to leave the nest.

Now our son and his wife, married less than one year, are working hard to remodel the main living area in their new house. Extensive work is required to accomplish their vision. It’s been fun to watch as they’ve learned new skills so they can do some of the work themselves. Friends and family are helping, and they’ve hired some work out that is beyond their skill set. It’s amazing how many life lessons can be found in a home remodel project! 
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Our two girls are also making preparations for their new “homes.” One is heading west for graduate school and will be in an apartment with three roommates. Space constraints mean she can’t take much with her, but I know she’ll make her new space feel like home. The other is prepping for dorm life and sharing a room for the first time.

Our home will definitely feel different a month from now. Same house, different vibe.

We may outgrow our homes at different stages of life. Or maybe we’ll end up with more space than we need. Relationships sometimes dissolve, leading to changes to housing needs as well. Or perhaps something as simple as aging knees and too many stairs warrants a change.

Our homes may become damaged, displacing us. Sadly, many daily news cycles include stories of natural disasters, fires, earthquakes, or floods, all raising havoc on people’s lives and homes.

Jobs or other circumstances may force us to move, giving up one home and sending us looking for another. Homes can inspire us. Maybe we long to move our family to a different neighborhood with better schools or safer communities. A desire to improve our personal situations can give us useful motivation to work harder, stretch ourselves, and hopefully contribute positively to our overall communities.

Keeping a roof over our heads is never easy, but the ramifications of doing so can have positive, far-reaching effects.

Homes can even provide inspiration of a different kind. When I was growing up, I’d visit my great aunt’s house. My aunt, Mary Nierling, was a unique woman. I often talk about how she is the inspiration behind my fiction series. My memories of her house are also incorporated into my stories. Her actual attic is the one behind the attic in Celia’s house. When I was a kid, her house was painted pink, which also happened to be my favorite color. I guess she was the reason I wanted a pink house. Aunt Mary has been gone now since 1992, and new owners of her old house changed the color, but a recent trip to my hometown had us doing a slow drive-by so I could snap a picture of it. I wish I could find an old photo of the house when it was pink, but so far, no luck with that.
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​The meaning of home has also been on my mind lately because this is an integral theme in my new novel, Rebuilding Home. This third book in my Whispering Pines Celia’s Gifts series revolves around both homes and relationships. The book will officially launch later this month. I thought it would be fun to share the blurb from the back of the book:

 A story of one man’s struggle to rethink his vision of the perfect family, true friendship, and what home really means.
 
When Ethan’s wife walks out in search of something more, his first priority is to protect his three teenagers from further heartache. He should have been a better husband. Now it’s time to be a better dad. Ethan grew up in a loving, supporting family, and his kids deserve the same. Besides, he doesn’t have to go it alone. Rex, Ethan’s best friend, is more than willing to step in and help keep chaos at bay.

Ethan thinks he’s doing a decent job juggling the responsibilities of business owner, landlord, and recommitted father. Can he also squeeze in a little romance? He hadn’t intended to start dating again . . . though an unlikely friend seems interested, and Ethan can’t help but feel intrigued.

But a devastating fire changes everything. Lives and livelihoods are at risk. Suspicions and doubts threaten to undermine all that Ethan holds dear. Will he be forced to acknowledge that sometimes those closest to us succumb to their inner demons when they suffer unthinkable loss? When trust is shattered, can old friendships guide us home again?

Rebuilding Home, the third book in Kimberly Diede’s heartwarming Celia’s Gifts series, follows Ethan’s emotional journey from fractured illusions, through tangled paths of hope and despair, to the renewed possibility of happiness.

​What started at Whispering Pines continues. Get swept up once again in the ongoing story of how one woman’s family continues to honor her legacy by seizing opportunities to reinvent lives.

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It can be hard to stay focused on pursuing our dreams when things are crazy at home, but I’m happy to say I continue to make progress on my writing endeavors. If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out my books, I invite you to start with Whispering Pines (see my Book tab on my website). And if you’ve already read Whispering Pines and Tangled Beginnings, grab your copy of Rebuilding Home on July 28th, it’s official launch date (or you can pre-order a copy now)!
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I’ll close by sharing a “goose-bump moment” I had on Friday morning. I was up early, working on things related to my book launch before heading off to my day job when our neighbor across the street sent my husband a picture that he’d taken that morning of a beautiful rainbow over the top of our house. I’ll take that as a positive sign of the importance of home, not only now but for years to come!

Home truly is where the heart is.   Kim