My Story : Introducing the “What” and “Why” of The Hygge House
Hi, I’m Taylor! Welcome to The Hygge House.
I am so happy you are here and that you are dedicated to being intentional about home and family. I wanted to give a better introduction of the "what" and "why" of The Hygge House.
Seeking Light
This idea started two years ago when I was in graduate school. I felt like I had followed the right path to go to school to become a social worker. But, I was struggling. My intentions were good: I wanted to help people and better understand different psychological perspectives in order to work with a variety of populations; but, when I got to school, I felt like a pariah in my field of study. My classes weren’t as much about theory as they were about policy, pointing fingers, and pushing an agenda. As one of the only religious members of my graduate program, I frequently felt othered and ostracized. At times, I would challenge the "truth" I was being taught, but, in most occasions, I had to remain silent out of fear of being shut down, losing internships, and being kicked out of school.
I am not suggesting that challenging my viewpoint made me feel unsafe, in fact I believe this type of intellectual discourse is invaluable to growth, but it did make me feel unwelcome, discouraged and caused me to think critically about the state of the world and how I wanted our family to navigate these times. I would like to state that the world is not black and white; there are many grey areas and I recognize and have much sensitivity towards the many social issues in the world today. I believe that finding answers to these issues requires patience, getting uncomfortable, and checking ourselves; but I also feel that when I am wrestling with deciphering truth from error, it is critical that I lean on my faith and look through that lens to help me sift through conflicting information.
I had several experiences where what I was being taught in school left me feeling confused and, honestly, scared. I was told that I needed to accept certain concepts as truths that did I not feel were congruent with what I believed. I was so disheartened by how misguided people were, but even more upset by how their misinformation would be affecting and confusing children and youth growing up in such disconcerting times.
A Calling
When all this was happening I felt so alone and I remember longing and searching for “my tribe:” people who understood my confusion and sadness in whom I could confide. Though I still was able to forge many great friendships with people and professors with whom I disagreed, I nonetheless left graduate school concerned about the future of children worldwide. Each of the disheartening lectures I sat through slowly emboldened me, and, over time, I began to feel called to challenge the status-quo: to encourage more parents to be intentional about what they were teaching in the home and to be dialed into how they were going to prepare their children to navigate life and make choices in a world of changing values.
During this time, I was praying a lot. I was asking God to help me to understand why I was where I was, what I was supposed to learn, and what I was supposed to do with this knowledge. I realized that the only thing that I had control over was how I raised, protected, and prepared my family. Consequently, I started searching for information that would help me do that. I read several books that aided me in developing new insights into organizing and designing a home, intentionally in parenting, and creating peace and happiness in the home. I read Meik Wiking’s The Little Book of Hygge and immediately felt like this word summed up the feeling I wanted to feel in my home. Hygge is a feeling of togetherness, safety, warmth, belonging, peace, beauty, and love. My experience is that the best way to foster these feelings within the home is by being "intentional." I know that there are many people out in the world sharing DIY projects and home makeovers, and these are things I love and share myself, but, I believe that in order for home to be what our families truly NEED it to be, we need to make more than just superficial upgrades. Having a spotless, perfectly designed home means nothing if home is not where our kids learn that they are children of God, that they should love their neighbor and live the golden rule. The truth is that not enough parents are taking this call to intentionally teach in the home seriously and the effects have proven devastating worldwide.
What Matters Most
More than anything, I want my own children to feel safe, loved, and connected to me and my husband. I don't want them to ever be led astray by the sophistries of the world and lose sight of their eternal, innate identities as children of God. I make no claims that I am by any means a perfect mother, or even a model mom, but I can honestly say to myself that there is nothing more important to me than my family. For that reason, I have become increasingly concerned by recent attacks against the family unit and the growing normalization of destructive attitudes and behaviors worldwide. What once was a wishful-thinking idea to create some sort of platform to promote family values has quickly become my focus. This work energizes me, and I genuinely feel there is nothing more fulfilling or impactful that I could do than this. Sharing with parents how to make thoughtful decisions to forge loving and intentional homes is why I created The Hygge House. I hope this site can be a resource for ideas and guidance on how to make home exactly what your family needs it to be: a "Hygge" Home.
Just because the world tells you are wrong and behind-the-times for not bowing down to the whims of society and its moral relativism does not mean you are. These are difficult waters to navigate, and the turbulence is only multiplying. I am choosing to be vulnerable and put myself out into the world. I am choosing to get loud about these issues because I want to give a voice to anyone else who may feel marginalized and intimidated. Parenting has never been easy, nor am I convinced that it will ever be, but, I am confident that the family is divinely instituted and that we are entitled to Heavenly help. I pray that the Hygge House will prove useful for your family ❤
