Fill your heart with Adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show.

When you're raising children I think it's pretty natural to wonder what legacy you are going to leave, what memories or lessons will they hold dear.
My parents never had alot of money, but they always worked hard and provided for their family. One of the things they made a priority was traveling with us kids. We went on one to two family vacations every year. My dad would save up his change all year and cash it in right before the trip, which paid for the gas for our entire adventure. We didn't have fancy things in our house, because their priority was giving us experiences, and we had some amazing ones.
Now that our parents have past I think about the imprint their actions have had on my brothers and myself. My oldest brother is succeeding in his career and chooses to travel every day in his job. He seems to love the adventure of seeing new things and visiting places he's never seen. My husband and I do something somewhat unpopular with our generation. We love to vacation with our children every time. We take about three amazing trips a year, and as a nostalgic gesture, we save up our change all year and cash it in right before we head to the Oregon coast. It pays for our gas (and Tillamook ice cream) all the way there and back. My youngest brother may have taken the largest leap into honoring my parents legacy. After my mom passed, him and his wife (who adore travelling more than anyone I know) buttoned up their house, bought a nice trailer and decided to travel around this amazing country. They weren't running away from life, that were running towards it. They decided to saturate their young daughter with life experiences most kids only dream of. I envy their courage and drive for adventure.
I think if you were to ask my parents what legacy they thought they would leave, they would say something like work hard, treat people kindly, love your god, and find your passion.
I think the strongest imprint they left on all of us was to "fill your heart with adventure, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to show".

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