One person said home was a feeling—specifically the feeling of coziness and connection, like curling up under a blanket with loved ones (and the dogs) while the fireplace crackles. My mother-in-law described home as an ideal, a small stone cottage surrounded by flower beds and soft light in the windows.
For me, home is something my own mother taught me to see differently: it’s stability. The place where life settles enough for roots to take hold.
The Sunday Evening Drawing
That lesson started long before I understood what stability meant. I remember sitting in “grown-up church” one Sunday evening, quietly trying to pass the time. I had a couple of markers and a scrap of paper, and I drew a picture my mom taught me to draw.
A small house with smoke curling from the chimney. A green hill with flowers. A tree by a waterfall. A couple of yellow ducks floating nearby. It was a simple picture, but it carried something bigger. It was the concept of peace, of safety, of home that she passed down.
My Mother’s Story
My mother grew up with a very different experience. She was one of seven children. At one point, she counted that she’d lived in over a dozen homes before she was grown, often staying with relatives or other families who opened their doors in times of need, eventually dropping out of high school to care for her younger siblings.
So, when she and my dad built a home for our family, it wasn’t just about walls and a roof. It was about permanence. When I was six months old, we moved into the house that would become the backdrop for my entire childhood. My parents have since passed, but that same home remains in our family today. It’s a symbol of everything she dreamed of; security, belonging, and the chance to finally stay.
Our Work at Cenlar
That’s why the work we do at Cenlar matters so deeply to me.
We’re not just managing loans or transactions. We’re helping people hold onto that feeling of home. Through sustainable homeownership, we create stability that extends beyond one family. It strengthens neighborhoods, communities, and futures.
Home is more than an address. It’s a foundation.
At the end of the day, what we do here isn’t just about mortgages — it’s about the quiet joy of someone turning the key, opening their door and knowing they’re finally home.
And that’s who (not what) makes this work worth doing: our clients and homeowners.