All The Way Home

Remember the first date you discussed with your daughter in the kitchen? Do you remember shucking corn or breaking string beans on the porch? Remember the first night when you were a kid coming home past your curfew? Your first kiss on the front porch? The heart to heart talks you and your dad had? The smell of fresh cut grass, the sound of crickets, and a cool breeze blowing through your bedroom window?

Do you remember playing kick-the-can or hide-and-seek, or catching lighting bugs in a mason jar?

My grandmother displayed her canned goods on open shelves in the kitchen because of all the hard work it took to grow and put them up. She made some of the best fried chicken you have ever tasted right there in that old wood burning stove.

Of course times have changed, but the memories and life experiences continue to revolve around life in our homes.

Good times and bad times come and go, but the comforting anchor is our homes. Sometimes it feels like it’s all you have. Your neighbors become your best friends, lend a helping hand, help when there is an emergency.  This is what home means to me.

Have we gotten away from all of that? Do families still gather around the dinner table and share their problems and dreams? Family values are learned at home. We must return to a strong connection to family. The home is where it happens. There are a thousand stories that can be told that revolve around the homes of America and our lives inside them.

Did we tell you that not only is Leo known as an international designer but he was born and raised in Mount Airy, NC? That’s right–Andy Griffith’s Mayberry!

A side note: Leo’s mom is 95 yrs young and still works two days a week at the famed “Snappy Lunch Diner” where Andy used to eat. Look it up.

For the love of home,

Leo Dowell