SUMMER IS coming. And surely your home will sit empty for a week in this heat. The playful cheers of the kids on summer break go missing for a week that was planned for a year. The dishes sit in the cabinets, waiting for their family to come back home. The doormat sits excitedly to welcome you to the front door. The cool air hits just right over the threshold, pushing its way to the door to fight the heat that keeps increasing by the day. Our furry friends are excited to see our faces instead of the house sitter’s. We catch the smell of home for just a moment, and soon, our noses will go back blind to our scent. We’re finally home from vacation.
We exchange “I need to forget, so take me to Florida” for “Florida was fun… but it’s good to be home.” We go back to our work friends. We get to have lunch at our favorite spots again. And we get to drive on roads without the GPS on our phones.
We should explore the world that was created for us. It’s exciting to plan a vacation, pack for it, and dig through snacks on the six-hour drive. Those butterflies creep up when the fancy sign starts to get closer on the trip. We jump out in the hotel parking lot and stretch our legs before our first step. The dopamine is on a never-ending conveyor belt. But still, there’s nothing like that welcome mat outside our door. The feeling of coming home cannot be matched.
Marketing messages and year-long anticipation pull us away from home for a short time. But I’m convinced every week — even working nine to five — can be a vacation. Our community is packed with things to do that we overlook. I encourage you, reader, to start a list of your home vacation spots. Your home has more fun than you realize, sitting just beyond your backyard. We’ll start your list in this issue of Good News. Welcome home to a life of vacation — every day. GN
