Home for the Holidays Encouragement

Everybody hurts...everybody needs encouragement.

The holidays are upon us and millions are traveling this weekend alone.
What do you hope to find when you go home?

I have been hearing the words to the song by Bon Jovi and Sugarland in my head, "Who says you can't go home...It's the only place that calls me one of their own."

Holiday memories can bring about intense feelings that sometimes surprise us--both pleasureful and painful. Maybe we wonder, now where did that come from...

Do you have nostalgic memories of a wonderful Thanksgiving or Christmas scene--decorated house, big turkey dinner, sparkling lights, wrapped presents, crackling fireplace, fabulous smells--all signaling love and laughter?

Or perhaps yours was a Christmas turned chaotic--no decorations or beautifully wrapped gifts, only disappointments with the people you call family. Thanksgiving was spent with cold food and people you really didn't get along with. Maybe you get an ache in the pit of your stomach when you remember the yelling, anger, jealousies and the pain associated with home.

What do you do about that place called home? I'd like to hear your comments and what you do to combat those feelings.