“There’s no place like home.”
                                                                   ~ Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

 

 

Do you remember your first home? Do you remember cleaning and polishing, maybe moving the furniture around several times? Do you remember sitting in a chair grinning and being so full of yourself? You noticed how the sun hit your favorite chair and positioned your plants to get the best exposure. You moved things around to delight you.

Maybe it was a dorm room or a small apartment. Size didn’t make a difference. It was yours! If things weren’t exactly new you covered the cracks, threw a sheet over the couch and thought it looked just fine – even chic. You walked around examining your possessions as though it was the first time you saw them. You straightened the pictures, your bed was made everyday and the dishes were done every night…until the newness wore off.

Do you remember all the reasons you chose your current home? Was it the view? The neighborhood? Cozy living room? Do you remember what you loved best about it when you first moved in? Take a moment and write down all the wonderful things you remember about those early days.

Do you still love your current home as much? Or, like a relationship whose honeymoon is over, do you look at your home with an eye towards improvement, seeing more of what’s not right than what is?

How do you love your home? How did you treat your home differently during those first honeymoon days? How do you treat it now? If you treated your home as though you loved it again in that same wonderful way what would be different? You see it’s not the house that’s changed so much – it’s you. Take some time to re-appreciate what you once loved about your home. Think of three things you would do differently if you really loved your home. Do them. Fall in love again.

Oh, and by the way, this same process works on relationships that could use a sprucing up as well…