I know our home isn’t normal even though it feels normal to us. The reality is that not every home is open, welcoming, and affirming. Some days it’s easy to forget how different places can be. Today highlighted that for me. My son brought home his paramour to stay for a week. It wasn’t the happy, loud, chaos that overwhelmed them but rather the acceptance, respect, and love that envelops anyone who walks through our door. They were really anxious about meeting us because they are not used to a healthy home environment at all. We have our issues, every family does but we love everyone who walks through our door without question or judgement. It’s one thing we are really good at. There’s dog hair in the corners that doesn’t get swept often enough, the stove probably needs wiping down, and there’s dirty dishes on the counter but there’s always enough love to go around. There’s overflowing kindness alongside that. It’s not niceness, it’s just simple kindness. While I write this I am honestly tearing up a little bit because I sometimes forget that people who are not us have a different lived experience with family and when the human beings I’ve raised reflect the kindness I have tried to teach back out into the world it reminds that just simply being kind costs absolutely nothing but can make a huge difference in someone’s day or even their life. I just wanted to write about this so that I can look back and be proud of my family.