Home

My children are young adults now, so lately, at our family reunions, we talk a lot about finding a small place where they could live, work,and start a family. Home is a place where we feel safe, secure, and loved—it’s where our family is. It's really hard to find a flat, since rent prices are skyrocketing. At the same time, their desire to have their own little space is completely understandable.

All this talk reminds me of the time my family moved into our first little flat decades ago. I’ll never forget that day. It was June, sunny and warm. My two-year-old son and I had arrived at the flat a little earlier than my husband. We had no furniture, except for a small kitchen. So, my son and I opened the balcony door, sat on the floor in the dining room, and watched the sunlight pour in. It was a perfect moment. We were in the best little flat in the world, watching the most beautiful sunshine, and my family was together for the first time, before that we had to live separately. It felt wonderful, it felt exceptional, it felt like home.

I'm very thankful for this experience and I really wish that all young people would have an opportunity to create a home and to feel home. Now, I'm an old and weird lady and I no longer dream about a flat in the city. Instead I picture myself in a tiny little cabin somewhere remote, surrounded with a big garden and trees around the cottage and often visited by my children and grandchildren.