Dear Kid,

Welcome to DearKidLoveMom.com’s new home.

You didn’t notice? Good.

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it’s all right. ~Maya Angelou

Yesterday, DearKidLoveMom moved to a new hosting service (we’d outgrown our starter hostess—shout out and thank you to the fab Donna who did all the packing and moving).

Home is not where you live but where they understand you. ~Christian Morgenstern

I’m not sure that people with a subscription got yesterday’s post (it was about America’s Got Talent and you can find it here). If you didn’t get it, I’m sorry. It was probably in a box that didn’t get unpacked as quickly as it should have.

Hopefully today’s post behaves the way it’s supposed to and reaches you as it’s supposed to.

Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration. ~Charles Dickens

“Home” is one of those interesting words. You can’t really translate the concept into most languages. It’s more than “house”, it’s more than “castle”, it’s more than a type of structure.

Home means different things to different people, and I think it means different things depending on the stage of your life.

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to. ~John Ed Pearce

I hope that you can make a home wherever your wanderings take you, but that you’ll always come home to us (at least to visit).

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

Today is your last day of finals!

Congrats on making it through another year full of ups and downs and ups and downs and ups again.

Since you’re coming home (yay), it’s time to review the Things Every College Student Should Remember About Coming Home.

You’re a member of our family (yay). You’re comfortable fixing your own breakfast, making lunch, and finding a snack when you’re hungry. You’re also capable of cleaning up after your breakfast, lunch, and snack.

Being a member of the family means taking turns doing chores like walking the Puppy and mowing the lawn. Both the Puppy and the lawn will be very, very happy to see you.

Since it’s Immediately After Exam Time, you’re entitled to a few days to sleep late and nap in the afternoon. This particular privilege does not last all summer.

5 Behaviors You Would Never Adopt But Just In Case You Were Considering Trying Them Out

• Do not chew with your mouth open
• Do not talk with your mouth full
• Grunting is not an acceptable form of communication
• Leaving all your gear and clothing on the kitchen floor is not an acceptable form of storage
• Whining is best left to vintners

Love, Mom