Definition Paper

HOME SWEET HOME What is "home"�? The 1965 "World Book Encyclopedia"� defines home as the backbone of every nation, whatever kind it may be. The shack in the sawmill town, the miner's cottage, the farmhouse in the valley, the city apartment, the trailer bobbing along the highway "" each is home to someone. Making the home a happy and comfortable place to live was and still is an art and science. It involves knowing how to do many things at once as well as setting aside quality time for family.

A typical home use to be filled with mom sending dad off to work in the mornings with a sack lunch and a peck on the cheek. Mom stayed at home to see the kids off to school while taking care of the home during the day. When dad came home from work in the evening, mom would have dinner prepared, and the whole family would sit down at the dinner table together.

United States

United States

United States

After dinner, mom would help the children with their homework. Dad would read the evening newspaper or watch the nightly news while the youngest children played in their bedrooms. The family would later watch television for a little while, and then have family bible study and discuss the day's happenings. Then off for the nightly bedtime ritual of bathing, story time and goodnight prayers, and kisses. Weekends were filled with family and friends gathering for backyard barbeques and attending church together on Sunday. After Church, they might have relatives or friends over for Sunday dinner.

This may have been the traditional picture of a home in the sixties "" a place of sanctuary and family gatherings, but it is not the typical picture of today's home. Many Americans are simply too busy with their careers...