It's like Coming Home

Have you ever seen the movie Hope Floats? There is a scene when the dad leaves. The daughter, Bernice, thinks she is going with him. She runs upstairs and packs her little bag and grabs her stuffed rabbit. She follows her dad outside and to his car. She puts her bag in the trunk. He takes it out and shuts the trunk and gets in the drivers seat. She follows him to the passenger window and in tears begs him to take her with him. Her Dad tells her that he can't and that her Mama needs her help. She continues to cry and plead with him, “Take me with you, Daddy you want me!” He pulls away and drives down the street leaving her standing there heart broken in pieces and sobbing. She drops her bag and her stuffed rabbit and her Mama comes and scoops her hysterical daughter up and carries her inside the house.

That scene hit me hard. I sobbed loudly in the movie theater. Forget the ugly cry, I was uncontrollably sobbing. My father never left us, he never walked away. But for some reason I could feel her pain. I think it was the feeling of rejection that Bernice feels that I could relate to. At one time or another we all experience rejection. And it hurts. In our lifetime most people are on a quest for love, acceptance, approval, a sense of belonging. Life's blows often pull the rug out from under us and we are left feeling unloved, rejected, dis-approved of and alone.

As a mother making sure my boys grow up feeling secure is extremely important to me. I want them to be confidant in the fact that their mom and dad love them and each other. The feeling of coming home, the warmth of a hug and the total peace of knowing that you are not alone. That is what I want my boys to most remember from these early years in their lives. Comfort, support, encouragement, acceptance, and love.

I grew up sharing a room with my sister Brenda. When we were teenagers my dad worked the late shift. He'd pull into the driveway after we were in bed. I remember feeling a sense of relief and comfort when his car lights would light up our bedroom. It wasn't until after he passed away that Brenda and I realized we both had the same feelings of comfort and security when Daddy was home.

Chris and I love the movie Sleepless in Seattle. When Tom Hanks is describing meeting his wife, he says, “It's was like coming home.”