It’s that time of year—birds build nests and welcome their young. Migratory birds return to previous nests but weave in new features.
Most of us do the same. We decorate homes with our kids’ or grandkids’ school work and handprints in plaster. We display souvenirs from trips near or far in prime locations to remind us of days with special people and keep those times alive.
I own a Norwegian rosemaling painting bought in New Glarus, WI during their fabulous Labor Day Swiss celebration that includes joyful dancing in the town square that’s as authentic as any canton in Switzerland. They even blow alpenhorns!
We won’t mention how many souvenirs I own from Israel, but can I really ever have too many? In fact, “souvenir” means something kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event.
Since retiring from elementary teaching, my sister Nancy has become a gifted watercolorist. She’s created hundreds of paintings, and I keep thinking her newest is her best. Therefore I have four framed ones on walls in my Mississippi home plus two smaller ones standing on shelves. I’ve bought another original for the cover of a novel I’m editing to release next year. Am I through collecting her work? Probably not, but I’m running out of wall space. You may view her work on Facebook at Naw-watercolors. (See at top left.)
My home also displays finds from friends taking me to artisan and specialty shops anywhere in the world. The good memories of local or foreign trips are memorialized in those items like a lingering fragrance. I’m including photos.
Other friends are fine craftsman. I see their skilled hands every time I glimpse their creations.
What makes a house a home? The people living inside—but that’s not all. It’s also the décor representing the people we love who can’t be with us all the time. Like my dried heather bouquet from an unforgettable time in Ireland when I literally could not find found words. Or the ornate handwoven rug Mary brought from Morocco. My delight is almost as good as traveling there.
Homes should be that way—filled with treasures representing the loved ones and places we can’t always fit in our homes but who find plenty of room in our hearts.
I recently told a Canadian friend I see too seldom that I’d like to be her neighbor in heaven. Then the realization hit me that there’s not time or distance there. I can’t explain that in physics, but we’ll ALL be neighbors ALL the time, and I like that very much!
What about your home? Boldly display your colors and souvenir treasures. Let them portray the beauty and loveliness that lives in your heart.
Have a blessed and wonderful April.
Love,
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