I have many ideas for posts that I want to write but for my first post I wanted to write about something that means a lot to me, and that is home. I think everyone should have a home, a place where they feel safe and secure. My home is more than a place where I eat and sleep, it is where I live. What makes my home special is that I know it so well. I know the colors of the table, I know the feeling of the red rug under my feet. Having a space a know that is where I live is very important for me because it I know I have a home where everyone loves me and supports me. I love to come home on a late autumn night and know that my mom will be home and she will be roasting root vegetables and winter squashes. I know if I am in a bad mood I can sit down on the big brown chair next to the lamp and read a book my dad loved when he was a kid.
My house is also filled with memories, the green couch where I watched my first soccer game from, the alphabet rug that I used to jump on with my friends. These are just a few of the memories that I will always have from this big yellow house, my home.
I think it is sad that not everyone has a home. I am reminded about this every time I walk downtown and see the homeless people sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a house to magically appear, but it’s not magic that makes homes for people, it’s organizations such as Habitat for Humanity which builds homes for homeless people and families that can not afford a standard house and Safe Passage which houses victims of domestic violence and keeps them safe from their abusers. These organizations give people homes, thus giving them new lives. A home is more than a house, never forget that.
LuLu Stirs The Pot 
lulub77 said,
June 17, 2010 @ 11:05 PM
Thanks for this marvelous, honest and very passionate post. It really captures what you love and appreciate about your home and family and what you know many people don’t have and aren’t likely to have unless this culture takes responsibility for those it casts aside.
Sarah Buttenwieser said,
June 18, 2010 @ 2:06 AM
Bravo! I love how you weave something that means a lot to you–your home & your sense of home–with your consciousness about the world beyond your own four walls. It really is this I love about you & love that you’re sharing with the world!
marjie said,
June 18, 2010 @ 2:21 AM
This is a wonderful read! Yes, everyone needs a home, one that is safe and secure. You write a vivid description that includes smells, touch, color and many kinds of comforts. Yet you take nothing for granted but wish it on us all.
Marian said,
June 18, 2010 @ 2:23 AM
Lucien, you are very wise and wonderful and I cannot wait to read more of your posts! I love your vision and feeling of home, I love the vision of you and your family cuddled up while your mom roasts veggies. I love that you know how important home is, that everyone needs a home. Do you know the books of Todd Parr? He’s young for you now, but his picture books are so sweet and wise. In The Peace Book there’s a page that says “Peace is… everyone having a home” and the way I read it aloud tickles my kids for some reason. They think it is cute and they say AGAIN! and AGAIN! over and over. And so we just keep repeating “everyone having a home” like it’s a mantra. As it should be, right? Great luck on your blogging venture! I wish you all good success and I will follow and read your posts. Thank you for writing!
marjie said,
June 18, 2010 @ 2:24 AM
And by the way, I’ve recently been approved by Habitat for Housing. I’m pretty excited!
Emily said,
June 18, 2010 @ 4:06 AM
My dear Lucien, so wonderful to hear your voice sounding so deep and true on this first of hopefully many posts. We share your appreciation of home and your passion for social justice and all three of us feel lucky to have you as family and to have memories of being in your home and of you in ours. Keep stirring the pot. Love, Em, Tom and Ian
Lauren Yaffe said,
June 18, 2010 @ 4:46 AM
You’ve written so clearly and in such detail that your home comes alive for everyone–the red rug, the green sofa, brown chair, mother cooking squash and root vegetables, your father’s childhood book. What else comes alive is your humanity and compassion. Beautiful!
Molly Monet said,
June 18, 2010 @ 4:51 AM
Lucien- This is such a heart-warming post. How lucky you are that you have such a loving home. I am hoping from the title of your blog that you will be writing about food soon, as I know it is one of your passions. Keep it up little man!
Molly
Joe said,
June 18, 2010 @ 9:56 AM
“That’s not a house
said Frankie Lee
that’s not a house
that’s a home.”
-Bob Dylan
Thanks for this, Lu. It is an articulate and honest reminder that I know I will be thinking about as my day goes by.
Rebecca said,
June 18, 2010 @ 11:11 AM
Wonderful post! Sometimes when I’m standing in the middle of it’s messy parts, I loose sight of these important observations of what a home is and how lucky I am to have one.
Mark Alston-Follansbee said,
June 18, 2010 @ 8:23 PM
Hi Lucien, thank you for your thoughtful writing about home. i agree with all you said and want to add that another thing that is important to me is a place I feel safe. I thought that was especially important with regards to the homeless because i can imagine how stressful it must be to never feel safe and how hard that could be.
Keep up the good work — and the smart thinking. peace, Mark
Emily Brownlow said,
June 19, 2010 @ 12:05 PM
hey dude! congratulations on your first post. I can’t wait to read more…