Places of Sanctuary Can Create Strong Family Bonds

Take a minute and think about a place that has special meaning to you – a place that makes you feel calm, focused and at peace. Maybe you have more than one!

Perhaps it’s a vacation spot such as a rental house at the beach, a tranquil lake home, a pine-scented camping spot, or a little hunting cabin in the mountains.

For some it’s as simple as a special room in your home, a backyard garden or a swing on a quiet front porch. Maybe it’s just taking a drive down a certain country road as the sun is setting.

For our family, that special place is known as “the farm.”

It’s been in my family for over a hundred years. My great-pap was born in the farmhouse in 1912 (along with his nine siblings), his daughter (my gram) in 1937. My mom came close to being born in the strawberry patch next to the house in 1957!

The two-hour journey to the farm, which is located in central Pennsylvania, is like escaping to another world, where farming and country life have held their ground in the fight against cookie-cutter development.

Rolling hills make way for larger mountains. Fields of golden wheat and crisp cornstalks sway in the breeze through the summer months, while snowdrifts line the narrow country roads in the winter. Cars make way for tractors as farmers enter and exit the fields.

For me, it’s heaven on earth. Even through all the beautiful things we’ve seen in our domestic and international travels, life just wouldn’t be the same without "the farm."

It’s where our hearts will always feel at home.

A couple of years ago when my great-gram passed away, we almost lost the property. Through somewhat of a miracle, my cousin was able to purchase it, keeping the 150-plus acres within our family for yet another generation.

It was at that time that I realized how much it meant to me.

I grew up going there on holidays and for weeks at a time during the summer.

Every Thanksgiving, the six-room farmhouse was filled with at least 40 family members and even more varieties of holiday desserts. Think Norman Rockwell, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Sleeping arrangements consisted of throwing a sleeping bag on any open spot we could find on the living room floor. It seemed perfectly normal. At times there were up to 20 of us sleeping in the house on a holiday weekend.

We shared one tiny bathroom and never seemed to mind. Patience and consideration was prevelant throughout the house.

Somehow, we made it work. We never thought twice about it.

Some of my favorite memories include:

• Building forts
• Taking long walks
• Picking blueberries, raspberries and cherries
• Searching for quartz crystals in the freshly plowed fields
• Fishing for “sunnies” (a.k.a. bluegills) from the banks of the pond
• Racing three-wheelers around the harvested fields
• Swimming in the pond (sometimes in fear of snapping turtles)
• Spotting deer and other night creatures from the back of a pick-up truck
• Getting ice cream and walking around Knoebel's Park at night

In the winter my cousins and I would go sledding, ice-skating and play board games or “Skat” if the weather was too cold. Bonfires were good fun any time of the year.

These experiences helped shape me into the person I am today. They’ve made me feel linked to nature and have given me an appreciation of what’s real in life.

This place of sanctuary connected our family and built lasting memories for all of us. Now I’m able to take my children there so they can also experience those wonderful moments.

What makes the farm special isn’t only its beautiful setting; it’s the family bonds that have been nurtured there. The best times have been sitting in a circle of lawn chairs with my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and sharing our stories.

This “special place” wouldn’t be so special without the people involved. Family is a wonderful thing.