Home. What does it mean for you? Is it simply four walls and a roof where your family or friends live? Or maybe as the German poet Christian Morgenstern said: “Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.”

Maybe this is what Laima, our new chairwoman, meant when she referred to our club as being a mini-home. Having fled her home country of Afghanistan twenty years ago, our club has become a surrogate home offering her support, laughter and joy in the form of friendship. It’s a place that she can imagine growing old in; a place where her children will play with the other members’ children.

As in any home and family we have had our fair share of tragedies, troubles and joy this last year. Most recently, a very active member, only in her thirties, suffered a severe stroke. Fortunately, she is recovering well and we hope to see our Rotarian sister in good health in the near future. Such incidences though, remind us of our vulnerability as humans and the precious nature of our lives.

Luckily, such tragedies are rare, yet each year brings a multitude of new challenges. This year has been no exception. Being the club’s fifth anniversary, a gala was held to commemorate this as well as to raise funds to build a school in Afghanistan. What was supposed to be a pivotal moment in the club’s history almost became a disaster, when the venue for the event fell through at the last moment. The event was saved when an alternative one was found at the last moment. This would not have happened if it had not been for the determination of various club members, notably the outgoing president Henriette and her board. In many families there are those who lead and navigate through the most turbulent of seas into calmer ones; our surrogate family is no different.

Fortunately, these difficult times are far and few between. In fact, our home overflows with joy, laughter and fun. We sing, we dance, we eat and rejoice with one another at the various parties, be it a Brazilian barbecue or an African evening. We celebrate the birth of our children or the nuptials of our friends; we congratulate one another on the success of a new job or a project at work.  And sometimes, we simply laugh because we can.

Isn’t this what a home should be: a place where we can live, love and laugh?

Creative Commons License photo credit: Walt Hubis