This past week has reinforced what we already know,  a home is not just wood and bricks and concrete and furnishings, etc. A home is the canvas of our lives. When someone loses their home to a wildfire, hurricane, tornado, bankruptcy, earthquake, mudslide, sinkhole, etc, the loss is much more profound than the statisticians might want us to believe.

Once you have spent years/decades in a home, the experiences within that space erased in an instant can be emotionally devastating. Yes, our health and wellbeing always comes first and homes can and will be replaced. Yet a home is much, much more than just a material object. It's the hug at the end of a long day. It's where families and friends gather and grow and evolve over time. It's where gardens are nurtured over many years. Homes are a direct extension and expression of our very existence. While you can destroy a home, you cannot destroy the memories.

I have this overwhelming sense of gratitude and appreciation for my home. All the people in L.A, I simply can't imagine the pain and sense of loss they are experiencing right now. I know we all share this feeling when we see these images of lost homes to fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. It is surreal. Unimaginable. Yet loss is part of life. And we as a community, as a country, will stand shoulder to shoulder to learn, recover and rebuild. We always do.

This serves as another reminder of just how important the work that I do to help people navigate their lives around their homes. It is serious, meaningful stuff that comes with enormous responsibilities and needs to be taken seriously by all.