With the holiday season officially upon us, we are reminded of the importance of home. This is the time of year when we are grateful for what we have, who we share it with and the home we celebrate in.
What makes home special is different for everyone. For some, home is where we feel a sense of familiarity, It’s the place we know so well that we can navigate it in the dark and avoid every corner and creak in the floor. For others, home is a place — the backyard where we played catch with dad, or the kitchen table where we ate family dinners. For many, home is about the community. We feel at home when we know loved ones are waiting for us behind the door. Regardless of the form it takes, home is where we feel safe, connected, and accepted.
In 2008, the Pew Research Center asked adults who had moved in their lifetimes, about the “place in your heart you consider to be home.” Most people have many homes over the course of a lifetime. There is the home they grew up in, the home they started out in, the home where children were raised, and the home they retired to. In our mobile society, chances are, most people will have lived in even more homes than this. We can easily answer, “where do you live”, but it is harder to answer, “what do you call home.” The study found that 26% of respondents regarded home as where they were born or raised; 22% felt home was where they currently lived; 18% thought of home as where they lived the longest; 15% say it’s where their family comes from; and 4% think of home as where they went to high school. Given the wide variety of responses, home seems to be the place we feel the strongest emotional connection to.
Our physical home plays an important role in our lives. It marks our place in the world and centers us. It is the place where we start the day and end it. It is a refuge and sanctuary. It is where we create new memories and reminisce about old ones. According to environmental psychologist, Susan Clayton, home is also a part of self-definition. We take great pride in our home. We decorate it to reflect our taste and maintain it to reflect our values.
At the Reishman Group we take great pride in helping our clients find home. We hope that you were home for the holidays and had a happy thanksgiving filled with joy and togetherness. Please reach out if you need anything!
