As I sit here and type, Chloe and Chelsea are playing Old Maid. Jake is playing Wii, and Kevin is making tomato and Mozzarella salad. I just spent a few hours prepping and making my Mom’s most loved sauce and meatballs. My Nana got this recipe from her Italian neighbor back in the fifties. It is simple, and delicious. I don’t make it too often. The longer it simmers the better, and who has the time for that? Well, today I made the time.

I am so busy. Really, who isn’t these days? Always just trying to get through the day. This Summer I have really tried to step back and enjoy my time with my family and friends. We’ve had great vacations to Disney, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. We have had awesome weekends at home in the pool, hanging out with people we love. But still, sometimes I need to stop and just be. Be in the house with my kids. Listen to the sounds that often go unnoticed in the hustle of the day. Watch as my daughters eyes light up when her sister says she will play a game of cards with her. Watch my son roll meatballs and proudly show them off. Listen to my husband watching some old B movie in the other room, and the hum of the dryer drying Jake’s clothes from camp.

As a kid growing up and even a teenager who acted like family was not important, one thing was true. My mothers sauce was home. It was a smell and a taste that always brought me back to what I had. Love.

When my kids saw me making Nana’s sauce today, they were thrilled. The whole time they could not stop talking about the smell. They LOVE the smell.

As the sauce simmers on the stove, and my kids keep asking me when it will be ready, all I can think of is home. THIS right here is their home. THIS smell is their home.