Thanks to MSHDA, I’ve got Perry Como purring in my head “Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays.”
Home for the Holidays
I’ll admit it, my life in Michigan is a lot like living in a snow globe. It’s predictable. Safe from most natural disasters and the view from my window is rather picturesque. Every once in a while, someone shakes the snow globe and two things happen: I find myself in a winter wonderland or my world is turned upside down and I’m caught in a funny limbo.
I found myself in that funny limbo when Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) invited us to share what makes a house a home. I, like many others, take for granted the safe, familiar space called home. A place with people, traditions, and memories. So now as we approach the holiday season, I find myself examining the definition of home and asking myself, is that it? Or is there a bit more to the definition of home?
MSHDA
You may be wondering why MSHDA is asking us to share our thoughts about a home.
“MSHDA is essentially a bank with a social mission. They provide homes and preserve places for the people of Michigan.” They work to provide Michigan residents with affordable housing. Not too long ago we discovered MSHDA’s Homeownership Programs. Did you know they have programs to help first-time homeowners with loans up to $7,500 for a down payment on a house? Yet another reason to love Michigan!
Definition of Home
I know this may sound hokey, but home is my family. My family is a little untraditional as it not only includes my husband and kids but also my best friends. I explore Michigan and create memories with them. Picking a memory illustrating what I mean is tricky. It’s like selecting the perfect picture from the boxes of family photos stored in the attic for your kids’ graduation party memory board.
Since we dream of being Yoopers and feel at home in the Upper Peninsula, it’s fitting to share a memory from one of our many trips across the Mackinac Bridge. One particularly colorful memory was our 2017 Winter vacation. We ate cinnamon buns the size of your head, snowshoed in Narnia, drank beer in a saloon built in 1895, experienced a white-out on M-41 outside of Marquette and explored the Eben Ice Caves. It was magical. Maybe it was the snow, but I bet it was my family who cast the spell.
Holiday Traditions
We have a few holiday traditions and one of my favorites is KindleFest which is celebrated on the first Friday of December in Ann Arbor.
As we make our way around KindleFest, which is held in Farmers Market in Kerrytown, we always stop at Heavenly Metal for a wee nip of Scotch but not before we donate to Galen’s Medical Society.
The other favorite tradition is curling up on the couch on Christmas Day and watching Die Hard! The ultimate Christmas movie for action fans. What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Thank You
Thank you, MSHDA, for inviting us to share our meaning of home. But more importantly, thank you for your Campaign to End Homelessness in Michigan. Unfortunately, there are around 86,000 people experiencing homelessness in Michigan. If you have time or resources to give, please do. Michigan Campaign to End Homelessness (MCTEH) has a list of ways you can get involved.
Post sponsored by MSHDA.
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