My House

A Thanksgiving reflection by Kathy Brogli, VP of Homeowner Services

Upon returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, a new Habitat homeowner texted me with a question
and hopes that I had a blessed Thanksgiving. After answering his question, I conveyed my best wishes
for him and his family that they had a good Thanksgiving, and I asked whether or not he had spent
Thanksgiving at his home or elsewhere.

His response took my breath away. He said, “Usually I go to Miami and spend it with my sister. This was
the first year I was able to do it at my house…Man, how I love [the] sound of ‘my house’”!!!!!

My house – two simple words, yet they carry with them the hopes and dreams of our future
homeowners. The hope of stopping the cycle of moving frequently to find affordable housing. The
dream of raising a family in a place they can call home. The hope of having a home in which one can age
in place well. The dream of having a home where the family, immediate and extended, can gather for
holidays and celebrations.

Those two words are why Habitat Hillsborough exists. They are why our volunteers come out to help at
the ReStores or to build homes. The hopes and dreams those words contain are why our future
homeowners carry on the tasks of daily living and somehow make the time to work sweat equity. All of
us, working together, make it possible for our future homeowners to be able to purchase a home and
say, “Man, how I love the sound of ‘my house’”!