^{Home Sweet Home made with Canva}

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to travel the world, not only for work but also for pleasure.

When I saw the question "What is your favorite place" I sat and wondered. Is it in America, the land down south, Australia, or is it in Bangkok, Thailand, where part of my heart is. What about home soil, Africa? My thoughts started to race through the beautiful places in my own beloved country, South Africa.

Is it the Kruger National Park which is home of the Big 5 (African elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and rhinoceros), majestic Table Mountain in Cape Town, or one of the mesmerizing fisherman villages on the West Coast like Paternoster? Not to mention the warm water of the Indian Ocean.

I got stuck in one place, "HOME SWEET HOME."

I know that many of you know the phrase, but what you might not know is that this phrase comes from a song. "Clari, or the Maid of Milan" is the name of the opera in which this song was sang in 1823. Reference A song I have listened to many times.

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home!

For me, there is no better place to be than in the comfort and warmth of my own home. It is the place I would choose a thousand times, because it brings me peace and plenty of happiness.

What makes it so special?

Aunty Google will tell us that home is a place where we start our day in the early mornings and rest our heads at night and that it is a place where memories are made. For me, there is so much more to what makes my home special.

🏡 Home is where I said my first word
🏡 Home is where I took my first step
🏡 Home is where I learned valuable lessons
🏡 Home is where I had my first encounter with love
🏡 Home is where I experienced motherhood
🏡 Home is where I cry when life through curveballs
🏡 Home is where I laugh until I cry
🏡 Home is where I can spoil my loved ones
🏡 Home is where I can put my feet on the coach when I want to

My home is where I want to be!

What do I do in my favorite place?

The question should be, What don’t I do in my favorite place.

As I grew up what I did at home changed. These days I found myself not only being a business owner but also an executive housewife, housekeeper, homemaker, chef, baker, teacher, nurse, gardener, handyman, counsellor, entertainer, and bookkeeper. All of this happening at my own home!

Then there are those days when I have to play along when there are not enough players to make full teams or be the umpire when there are two teams. Not to mention sitting and watching my stepson play his games cheering him on, and lending a helping hand to my husband when he is getting his fishing gear ready for his next fishing trip. I’ve become an expert in my own home.

During the midst of all these things I read and I learn. When I have the chance I watch television and cheer for my favorite sport, cricket.

Home is where I camp at night in my warm bed and praise my Heavenly Father when I open my eyes in the morning.

I almost forgot, it is also where I am an author, where I post, comment, vote, and powerup.

Home is where things happen.

Memories of my favorite place, home

*Home *Sweet *Home

Home is where my parents taught us valuable lessons of life, those fruits of the Spirit we learn about when we start Sunday school, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I will never forget the family "braai’s" (South African barbeque), listening and dancing to the music on the LP’s Dad would play for us. The fighting amongst us children and the sweet making up. Falling asleep as we listened to the stories the grownups shared with us when they were little, and waking up in the morning to find that our cousins are all gone.

My home is filled with laughter, warmth without a blanket, filled with the aroma of fresh brewing coffee, and the smell of fresh crashed garlic, all that is needed to make home "sweet."

My mom pleased us as kids with her cookies and chocolate cake when we were little. Later she stole the hearts of her grandchildren. Quickly she was named "Ouma nog een" (granny one more) as she always told them to have one more cookie.

My mom might not be with me forever, but she will fill my home with her smells for years to come making it sweet as I continue baking and cooking from her recipes.

There is a saying, "A house is built by hands, but a home is built by hearts."
This is my home.

The memories of my children and family visiting. The grandchildren running in the house, laughter as they play on the grass and the "please" and "thank you’s" I will never forget, the true blessings of my home.

Home, my favorite place, is not made of bricks and stone but of LOVE!