At the end of a trip it can be so nice to know you are heading home - especially if you've spent a lifetime creating a place you feel both comfortable and motivated in.  It's not just about returning to your own bed, your loved ones, or your pets.  This home is the place where things are just as they should be for you.  Somewhere you've finally found comfort in your own skin, your own ideas and even in your own dreams.  When you've been out of your element long enough to realize that even your supposed struggles pale in the comparison of others and when you've almost forgotten the day to day drudgery you were eager to escape at the onset of your trip then it is indeed time to make the journey home.

Today, I prepare to make that journey, with a glad heart for the gift of reconnection and a head full of new potential and inspiration.  As summer has wound down for most of the US and the kids are shuffling back into classrooms I send best wishes for a cozy return to home and hearth as the amber coat of fall wraps around us all.
 
 
Be a gracious hostess to life and your rewards will be plentiful.  Not only will others speak highly of you but you will be lifted up by the pride of doing more than is expected.  To bring an element of surprise and delight into another's life is always uplifting for both the giver and the recipient.

I witnessed this first hand during my recent house warming party when I surprised my guest with a giving game I use to get people involved in the festivities.  The guest were each given a small gift for attending and a note card, but before they could open the gift they were instructed to open the card and figure out (by the clue inside) who the card belong to, once they did they actually gave that gift to the other guest.  This continued until everyone not only had a parting gift but also had the extra gift of getting to share something interesting about each other with the whole group, and also being able to give a gift to a new acquaintance. 

I believe it was that little something extra that amplified the act of giving from just handing someone a gift as they heading into or out of the party to a spirited celebration of giving and receiving.  My guests were delighted to see the brightly colored gifts appear but even more excited to be able to give to each other.  In the end I received the biggest gift by being able to create a community of giving and christen my home as a place of joy and love.