Our home is our refuge from the world. It is the place we go to put our feet up, let our hair down and be ourselves. So much of the time when we are at work, Church or other social events, we have to put our best foot forward and be on our best behavior. This is how it should be—we should be at our best to ensure we are treating others properly and being good examples. But at home, we can "let down" a little. We can relax and loosen up.

This can be good and bad. It is good that we are more comfortable at home. Our family members know us well, and we know them well. We are usually more open and candid with them than we are with others. However, if we are not careful, we can "let down" too much and end up treating others better than members of our own families.

We can sometimes not give our loved ones the care and consideration we should.

Show courtesy: Our families deserve our courtesy just like others do. When a family member does something we have asked them to do, or does something special for us, are we appreciative? Do we say "thank you"? By not showing appreciation, our mates and children can be left feeling like they can never please us, and resentments can start to grow.

Also, when we want one of our family members to do something for us, do we ask them in a courteous way? Do we show consideration for their time and not assume our needs are more important? Do we order them around, or do we use kindness and consideration when making requests?

Show respect: Our families also deserve our respect. Do we show honor in the way we talk to each member, or are we quick to criticize and nag? When there are problems and disagreements, are they handled in a proper way, or do we fly off the handle and use words that we later regret? Belittling and criticizing in front of others can be especially hurtful.

Our family members deserve our best, but sometimes end up seeing our worst. Let's remember to treat them with courtesy and respect so that we don't end up "letting down" the people who mean the most to us.