Time-Tested Truths to Turn on the “Love-Meter” in Your Home

By Momivate's Atmosphere CouncilMom, Annette T. Durfee

One of my favorite things to do while growing up was to visit my grandmother’s homes on both sides of my family.  I think everyone enjoyed it!  I have to mention that while some people have “cookie” Grandmas, I had TWO "ice cream Grandmas!”  My Grandma Durrant always had her freezer stocked with a favorite flavor at a moment’s notice.  And my Grandma Tenney would let us sit on her back porch and grind the handle of the old-fashioned ice cream maker with a fresh cream mixture until the ice cream was nice and thick!  YUM!  So, was it the ice cream factor that made my Grandmas' homes such special places to visit?  Being the ice cream lover that I am, I confess my answer to that question: “YES!”


But, of course, there was more -- much more!

In fact, everything in my grandmothers' homes spoke in a special way to my heart: 

• Giant hugs I received on her doorstep
• The twinkle in their eyes and a smile that spoke, “I’m so glad you’re here!  You’ve really made my day!” 
• Fresh veggies and cantaloupe from the garden or the aroma of freshly baked bread smothered with honey! 
• Books and toys especially for the grandkids. 
• Handcrafted paintings, homemade pillows, and pictures of the family on the fireplace mantle let us know who she truly prized.
• And always, Grandma’s humming in the background as she tidied up her home in the early morning hours, ready at a moment’s notice to spend a little time with us. 

Rain or shine, at Grandma’s, we were instantly comfortable, instantly welcome, instantly at home. 
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Don’t we all want that kind of a home?  A home filled with warmth and love!  Happily, it is something we can all achieve with work, creativity, time, and a whole lot of help from above!  One song that describes this loving ambiance we want in our homes is called, “Home,” written by Caroline Eyring Miner: 


Home
Home is where the heart is
Where warmth and love abound
Home is where encircling arms
Go all the way around.
--by Caroline Eyring Miner


A home, as we all know, is more than just the furniture and the stuff we own.  It is made up of the people who live there – our family!  Therefore, in order for a home to have that ambiance of love that we desire, one of the most important things we can do is to prioritize our time to strengthen our relationships with our families. 


 In families, love is spelled T-I-M-E.

Time spent with our families is a true investment that pays long term dividends. When we spend time with our family, we increase our family’s capacity to feel loved and secure in our home. What we are really saying is, “I have time for you. You are important to me.” Time spent with family doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective, but both quantity as well as quality are important and consistency is key. 


How do YOU spell love with your family? What message are you sending with the events on your calendar? Here are a few ways that strong families send their families a little love note to pump up the love-meter in their homes:

1.  Set aside a weekly family night – What could be better than a time reserved just for your family each week where you all have a blast together?!  Start out with one and build up to planning out a few at a time.  Keep it simple or spruce it up.  Just make it a night that the whole family looks forward to!  It’s a great time to teach your family values as well as life skills.  Play games and activities or go on outings!  Maybe even work on a project together once in a while!  And always – I mean ALWAYS -  include a special treat! 


2.  Set aside a weekly family planning meeting – This is a great time to calendar events, share goals and dreams, and express ideas that will strengthen your family and leave everyone feeling calm and reassured.  What can you do to assist them?  How can they in turn help the family run more smoothly?  You can do this as part of your weekly family night or at dinner.  Just find whatever time works best for your family.


3.  Individual Attention – One-on-one time with your children can be an effective way to connect with them even if it’s only a few minutes a day.  Maybe you do this as you prepare dinner together, go on a short outing, run an errand together, or enjoy a special bedtime routine.  Letting them talk about whatever is on their mind and really listening to them without judgment or criticism will help them to feel important and loved. 


4.  Unplug – In a world that is running at breakneck speed, we don’t want our families to get lost in the shuffle.  So be sure to take a little time each day AWAY from phones, computers, television, and so on, not only to benefit yourself, but so that the whole family can really connect.  This electronic free time becomes your chance to look each other in the eyes, talk together, laugh together and learn from one another, so don’t let it pass you by!


5.  Eat meals together - Even if you can’t do it for every meal of every single day, do what you can to regularly schedule this important time together.  Making it a priority to eat together blesses our families tremendously!  Children whose families eat together not only develop healthier eating patterns and have better health, but they have a better vocabulary and academic performance, a higher self-esteem, a greater sense of reliance, and a lower risk of depression, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy.


6.  Make and keep family traditions – Silly or special, extensive or simple,  taking time to infuse family traditions lights a spark of joy and love in families.  Some families have a song or a cheer.  Some gather for a family prayer and group hug before heading out the door each morning. Some explore a special place each year.  It really doesn’t matter what the tradition is, only that you do it and remember to keep doing it.  Whether it’s as simple as having green eggs and ham on St. Patrick’s Day, strawberry pancake stacks on Valentine’s, or a treasure hunt on birthdays to find the presents, traditions not only give children something fun to look forward to, but help them to feel emotionally supported.
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My grandmothers always had time for their family.  They could have done a million other things, but instead they chose us.  They turned on the love-meter in their homes by including us in their lives - teaching us how to do ceramics, raking the leaves together, playing a game of cards, going for a walk together to the post office. The ambiance in their homes was more than just physical surroundings, although that was certainly part of it.  By opening up their calendars, what they were doing in essence was allowing us the time to open up our hearts to them, time with which they could then use to share their powerful influence for good.  Now that’s what I call time well spent!