Home is Where My Family Is
Thank you to MSHDA for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
Growing up, my favorite holiday to celebrate with my family was Eid because it came twice a year. There was always something so special about the atmosphere when it was Eid.
We would wake up and smell the Sabaya, a delicious traditional layered pastry, baking in the oven. The smell of the incense would also fill the house. We would rush to get dressed up in our fancy dresses and suits. We would pray together as a family in the living room and then enjoy breakfast together with tea.
After breakfast, we would spend the rest of the day visiting family. As a kid, I remember the unlimited supply of candy available at our relatives’ houses. My siblings and I would all get together at the end of the day and show off who got the most candy from our uncles and aunts.
It was such a fun time of year for us!
Now that we are older and have kids of our own, we try to make the holidays special for our little ones, too. We celebrate Eid twice a year in addition to Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, which is right around the corner!
We definitely value our time with each other as we’ve grown up and we make more of an effort to spend time with each other as a family.
Since everyone is busy with school, work or traveling, we don’t always get to see each other as often as we’d like. Some of my siblings have families of their own and others live away from home, so getting together at my parents' house is always a nice treat.
My parents' house will always feel like home to me. We have moved houses a few times, so I am not as attached to the houses as I am attached to sharing experiences with my parents and siblings.
Home to me is anywhere that my family is together.
In 2012, we lost our house during the housing crisis. We didn’t know about the resources available to us at the time to save our house until it was too late, and we had to move shortly thereafter.
At that time, had we known about the resources MSHDA offers, we may have been able to avert that crisis. Or at the very minimum, get the support we needed for a down payment.
MSHDA also forges partnerships at all levels to provide homes and preserve places for the people of Michigan.
Although we are not in our childhood house, home continues to be where my family gathers. I have so many wonderful memories of my family celebrating the holidays and it’s nice to be able to share that experience now with my little one.
I am looking forward to spending New Year’s Eve with my family this year. I can’t wait to spend time with everyone and celebrate each other’s accomplishments over the year.
What does “home” mean to you?
What is your favorite way to celebrate the holidays?