Where The Heart Is.

By Helen May.

Shock waves are reverberating all around the world in the aftermath of the atrocities that took place in London last week. Now, don’t worry – I’m not about to get all political and dissect the whys and wherefores. It was terrible. It was needless. Enough said.

But it got me thinking about the world we live in and each of our little worlds within it. Mommies have lost their children, parents have been lost, friends, colleagues, acquaintances gone. I listened to a radio talk show where a caller was fretting about the state of the world and her worries about bringing her children up in a world so tainted by evil.

And that’s when I started thinking about how important it is now more than ever that we create a happy and secure home for our families. We shouldn’t hide such atrocities from our children – just as it is important to make a child feel safe in their homes, it is imperative that the snapshots we give them of the world are real – there will come a time when they have to go into the big wide world alone and we must make sure they are prepared for it.

The best we can do is to keep up the good fight in our own homes. Give our children a world within our four walls that is happy and fun and safe. Let’s keep getting pleasure from the simple things. Let’s keep making happy memories for our precious little angels.

Londoners have shown they will not be bullied by these evil people and returned to life as normal within hours of the attacks. Their stoicism should be admired across the globe. And if we can keep our homes the warm and safe places they should be and keep getting pleasure from the simple things, then we too will be showing in our own private little ways that they will never win.

So go in the garden and pick some flowers.

Bake some bread.

Go out and buy some new fluffy cushions.

Play your favourite song and dance around your living room.

Read some poetry aloud to yourself.

Cuddle up cosy on the couch with your favourite people.

And to the lady who was scared about bringing children into the world, remember there are many more wonderful things in the world than bad. And the best thing? This evil exists in isolation – it is not contagious. But happiness most definitely is.

And after all, each baby born is another chance for the world to become a better place.