There is a popular saying "Only love makes a house a home." The general opinion is that there are a lot of houses but very few homes, especially nowadays. Busy people can hardly spend any time with family. This impersonal atmosphere of modern homes is a pretty modern development.
It used to be quite opposite in the old days, when the family was close together. When the family members spent more time with one another, they shared their problems and enjoyment; so that they could create the positive atmosphere of their home. Everybody knew and understood the meaning of the word "home" and would find it difficult to explain to somebody who felt different. I do not mean that there are no such families nowadays, but they are definitely less numerous than they used to be. One thing that causes it is faster pace of living and more pastimes in the free time. Everybody prefers watching TV or surfing the internet to talking about family matters.
The most obvious definition of "home" is a safe and warm place where the family members always welcome each other, no matter when they left to live on their own. Some time in one's own life each of us should also provide such a place for the new family and as it is the people who make the atmosphere, the home will be happy and loving only if its inhabitants are so.
