What the world needs now is more hotel rooms.

Hotel rooms are always neat and clean – vacuumed, dusted, and shiny. The bed is always made. The linens are always fresh. With or without an ocean view they are almost always welcoming and calm.

As much as I try to recreate that serenity at home, somehow our bedroom falls short. Ever-present in our room is a basket of laundry waiting to be folded. You can usually find a tower or two of books that we want to read but haven’t found the time. The kids like to leave little notes on our mirror: Need lunch money, please sign permission slip, can’t find my sneakers… A couple of file folders from work and sheets of electrical plans usually complete my bedroom's decor. Not exactly the picture of serenity.

So by contrast, of course a hotel room is serene and simple - it's meant to be simple. The hotel room is meant to provide you with a temporary resting place as you continue on your journey. You can’t grow attached to it because it’s temporary. It’s always clean because you are not meant to stay. It’s a respite from home, a place to escape your life for a brief interval. It is plain vanilla and you only get out of it what you put into it.

Compare that to your room at home and there you’ll find the key: it's home. It’s yours, it’s where you build your memories, and where you’re surrounded by the things that mean the most to you. It may not be perfect. Maybe it needs a fresh coat of paint and you should probably fold the laundry once in a while, but still you should appreciate it for what it is: Its home.

That’s not to say that hotel rooms have no value or that you shouldn’t enjoy a little plain vanilla once in a while. Exactly the opposite: You need a little plain vanilla sometimes to help you appreciate real home cooked flavor.

The Gift of Peace...

How many times have I suggested the importance of taking "me time" and meditative moments? Well here’s a confession… I haven’t taken my own advice.

I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece, a student, a writer, an executive and a friend to all except myself. I’ve made time to take care of everyone but me. Meditate? Remember my spirit? Nope. I’ve let housework, Mommy-work and work-work get in the way of making myself happy. I’ve neglected to do the things that keep me growing and keep me sane. But I suppose even recognizing that truth means I’m still growing and learning.

Even so... there’s a reason why the flight attendant always says “in the event of an emergency take care of yourself first and then tend to your child”. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t have the strength to tend to anything or anyone else. Ain’t that the truth. You’ll find yourself stretched to the limit, jumpy, irritable and generally miserable. That was me. Is that you, too? I hope not. But if that is your situation, then I hope you can do something about it before its too late. Or maybe someone you love will do something to help you find your way back.

Fortunately, I have someone in my life who loves me like that. For my Mother’s Day gift, he sent me off to check into a hotel room... just for me... to relax – by myself. Nice, huh?

It can’t take the place of those pancakes lovingly served to me in bed by my three beautiful children, or the flowers, perfume or jewelry delivered with a kiss from my sweet loving husband. No, but this gift restores my spirit in a way I didn’t know I needed. So as I sit here, in a great hotel room with room service, a glass of wine and sole control over the remote, I am happily writing this blog. I am grateful for my husband, grateful for my kids, and grateful for the gift of peace -- peace of mind. Happy Mother’s Day.