I went to the grocery store the other day; a task I’ve skipped for a few weeks due to working on our daughter’s wedding plans. As I was thinking through dinner plans and remembering how much I/we love to cook, I remembered the event that brought my family around the table several years ago. Our son was young, he’s 22 now, and he was throwing some sort of tantrum about dinner. I was fixing them a quick frozen meal, AGAIN. In his tantrum, he mentioned that all he wanted was for us all to sit around the dinner table and have dinner like a family. Wow. Being a mom that really cared about my kids, I thought I was doing a pretty good job handling the kids, the sports, the job, the household, etc. After all, I was making sure their basic needs were met, right?

Well, here’s my kid telling me one basic need wasn’t being fulfilled. The ordinary family dinner. There’s something to be said for this turning point. My hubby and I rediscovered our love of cooking while the kids found theirs. And I’m not kidding, my kids are skilled cooks now. Around the table, we talked, sometimes we argued, but we always made a point to do this one activity together several times a week. It wasn’t so much about what we were having as it was about the act of making time for each other.

After all this time has passed, I was reflecting on what this simple family activity actually DID and found myself comparing sitting around the table to finding the right home. You see, to my son, having us all together may have felt like a warm, caring hug. That’s exactly the feeling people are looking for when they’re choosing a home. To them, it should feel like togetherness. The right home will feel like a warm hug. Most of the time, buyers will forego several details of what they wanted in a dream home when they find the house that promises a future of family dinners and movie nights. That happy future is way more important than a fenced backyard.

Sellers, you never know when there’s someone in that buyer’s family wishing for that kind of family time. Appeal to the dream. Help them picture themselves around the table.