When is your Home more than the place you live in?

A close friend of ours, many of you know her, had knee replacement surgery a week ago. The hospital, in the crazy way of the modern health system, didn’t even let her stay overnight.

They sent her home. Literally 3 and a half hours after her surgery. That’s crazy.

The only thing they made sure she could do is go up and down 3 stairs, use a walker and go to the bathroom. That’s it. Plus a prescription for some painkillers.

The hospital released her, Penny picked her up.

In the normal way of things, she would have gone home. She would have had to care for herself. She can’t walk at all without a walker. Even with a walker it is very slow going and agonizing.

Cooking for herself would be way too much, if possible at all. And forget about doing a flight or more of stairs more than once a day at most. Stairs are close to impossible.

We set her up with a machine that circulates cold water and keeps her knee cold and really helps to decrease the pain. The machine works by putting ice into it, together with water. The ice cools the water which is circulated to a pad on her knee. The ice has to be replaced every 8 hours or so. Every 8 hours! The now-melted water bottles have to be taken out of the machine and replaced with other bottle in the freezer.

For her .. It’s painful. It’s agonizing. It’s slow. And even with her very upbeat attitude, it’s hard. Pain killers help.

It was clear that she could not manage at home. The only reasonable solution from our perspective was to invite her to stay with us. For as long as she needs or wants to. No deadline.

Penny cooks for her, or we order some takeout. We change the ice for her. We keep her company. We make sure she takes her meds. Make her coffee in the morning. Encourage her to do the exercises she needs to do.

That is the kind of Home that we, Michael and Penny want.

We want a home where doing acts of kindness for our friends and community is the norm of our home. It is the identity and feeling we want for the home we co-create. For us as a Jewish family, that is part of having a Jewish home.

The result: she has had an easier time in her recovery. We get to be her friends. Equally importantly, and most importantly for this story, we create the home we want.

Do you create the home you want?

In what ways do you, and in what ways do you let the "chips fall where they may"?

We invite you to create the home that you want.

Whether you are single living in just one room, or a couple with an entire home, or anywhere in between, we invite you to create your home.

As part of the artistry of life.

Of course, choose the art and decorations. Of course, choose the style.

But even more, the values that your home embodies.

Maybe it is having more of nature in the house. Or maybe more modern art.

Most couples spend time on decor, but not on the values that their home embodies.

The values your home embodies will emerge from each of your individual habits and how you are used to doing things.

The alternative is to be a Creator of Your Home.

Michael & Penny