Heart of the Home

Most rooms at home serve a purpose: to cook, to watch TV, to bathe and to launder. And a small percentage of any house often finds itself all by its lonesome, like the formal dining room or even the holy towels your mother told you not to touch in the powder room where they rest on display, "just for the guests," who also understand the concept and tragically don't use them either.

Out of all these rooms, however, the kitchen, dining room and family room remain the typical locations for folks to gather together in during weekends, week nights or holidays. They often become the stage for our best, most fulfilling memories of life in a particular house, and we chronicle our lives by the time spent in these locations.

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The kitchen holds a special place in our house as the heart of my home because of the action and interaction that takes place. Pumpkin loves cooking and baking with me as well, and her interest in learning all about the cooking tools and utensils while Sean and I look on and watch her grow provides us the best opportunity to enjoy parenthood. Contrary to popular trend, however, I don't believe the kitchen, although useful, serves solely as the heart of the home simply because of who we are as people.

At age two through four years old, most toddlers will typically participate in solitary play by themselves or parallel play where they can exchange toys with other children, but still play alongside each other instead of with one another. Nearly every person at this age lacks the maturity to interact in a meaningful way with others of their own age, but will develop the ability to create purposeful and important relationships as a milestone of social progress.

By the age of five, most children will engage in cooperative play with other children which helps them not only understand the social aspects of life, but also develop their self awareness. This kind of interaction will carry them throughout their lives as the building blocks of communication because interactive play helps them discover and develop the very core of who they are.

Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of our modern world takes people away from cooperative interaction with others. It's as though the progress made towards mature social exchanges has digressed back to the me-centered life of toddler-hood. We've all seen the parallel existence folks have when on a cell phone checking out groceries. Who hasn't walked past a young adult with head phones on, oblivious to passers by? And I know I'm not alone when I protest texting while at the dinner table, texting during date night or worse, when driving.

Cell phones in particular offer a means of critically evaluating the quality of a social interaction similar to judge Bruno on Dancing with the Stars. If the conversation bores (a 6/10), the cell phone call is answered. If the lack of entertainment proves snooze worthy (a 4/10), the text is replied to. If dinner takes too long listening to the monotony of mindless details (a 2/10), the ipod earphones are inserted. No room in any house, heart of the home or not, can avoid the potential for social withdrawal via portable electronics, alleged advances in communication.

Therefore, I believe the heart of the home lives not only in a room or space, but most importantly in the moments of bonding in a home with heart.

For instance, grabbing a towel fresh from the dryer, particularly a Samsung DV448AEP, and wrapping it around Pumpkin when bath time has ended reminds her how much I care that she feels safe and warm when we spend time together. Sincere peace and a sense of restfulness can be often found when snuggling into bed with my hubby beneath deliciously clean, crisp sheets as though the world around me rests as I do, tucked in and drifting off to sleep in peace instead of worrying about tomorrow.

Even biting into my Grandma Abramat's pound cake, which my Aunt Pam can replicate with astonishing accuracy, reminds me of Grandma, her house and the "Oooo oooo," she'd sing like the musical intervals of a doorbell when walking through an entry way.

And few things make me feel cared for better than the smell of my mother's perfume, Estee Lauder's Beautiful. Like a blood hound, I will follow the scent because it reminds me of climbing into my mom's dressed up lap while we attempted to quietly listen alongside my siblings in the church pew all the Sunday mornings of my childhood. My head on Mom's chest, I felt an unparalleled comfort that I strive to replicate in small moments when Pumpkin needs me to hug away her tears while I tend to her boo-boo in the bathroom or provide rest in my arms from all the hard work she does playing with Daddy in her playroom.

And something must be said about the relaxation of sipping a cool beverage in the early nighttime hours, feet up, baby asleep, listening to the hum of the dishwasher and washing machine running, doing all the work for me! That being said, Samsung really offers a great way to accommodate home life in all rooms of the house as well with their line of home appliances.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/homeappliances.html They built the technology into their appliances to accomodate energy and time efficient living so I can concentrate on making more moments of bonding with my family.

Again, if you would like to win a new Samsung washer and dryer, visit this site to enter:
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