Marion and Maureen Panganiban Family Reunion 2017 (not pictured: Adell Simmons)

“I want to go home!”  We have been in Utah for nearly two weeks and it has been filled with a lot of good memories, but memory-making comes at the cost of routine and sleep. When my girls and I are at home we have a tight schedule that we keep for good reason. Naps and quiet time are not just for me to have a break; my kids really need that time to rest. So, as we have been visiting friends and family and traveling back and forth between them and home-base at my mom’s house, my kids have not had their naps and if they did, it was at a home they were unfamiliar with. So, last night as we drove the hour to my mom’s house, my kids were completely strung out. I heard a lot of the following–in screaming form:

“I want my Coty (their dad).”
“Where’s my daddy?”
“I want to go home!”


I have thought about this since and I see a lesson. My kids needed rest and comfort from a long day of new people and places. We pushed the envelope of their mental, emotional and physical capacity by strapping them into car seats to drive for the tenth time that day. During this time of stress, they yelled for their dad and home…two things that would ease their burdens and bring them peace in an otherwise hectic day.

This made me realize just how important our homes are and what home really means. The definition of home that I have formulated lately is

a space to be our true selves and room to become better.

Our homes are literally havens (a place of safety or refuge). It made me feel good that my children yell out for home; that means that they feel that safety. I am also equally glad that they call out for their dad. In a world full of absent fathers, they know that they will find strong arms to hug them and tender kisses on the cheek from a man that sees them for who they are and who they will become.

I hope that every child of God has a place to rest from their cares–a place to call home.

Best,

Lucy