Living Legacy - Part 2

With Christmas, New Year's, illness and everything in between I haven't had a chance to be here in a while, but I haven't forgotten the conversation I started a while ago about living legacies.  In fact I have been thinking frequently about what I want my children to take forward into the world and I have come up with a list of the few most important memories I want to build for my children.

First, I want my girls to take memories of family traditions forward into their lives so they can create their own traditions.  Christmas breakfast, birthday parties, movie nights with popcorn, stories at bedtime and more!  I want the girls to look back and be able to remember not just special holiday traditions, but everyday and special treat traditions that we did as a family.  I want them to be able to build a life that is their own.

Second, I want the girls to have memories of JD and I loving each other.  I want them to remember us hugging, kissing and being silly together.  I want them to remember us holding hands and saying, "I love you!"  I want them to be adults who show affection and aren't afraid to take a chance on love, even if they might get hurt.

Third, I want the girls to have memories of doing things with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends.  I want them to reflect on their childhood as being a time when we fostered their independence and encouraged them to care for all those around us who are important in our lives.  I want them to remember us encouraging them to make new friends and try new things - to be adventurous, to be social, and to be themselves.

Finally, I want the girls to have memories of disagreements gone right.  I want them to remember squabbles and tantrums - by themselves and us - that we solved together.  I guess what I'm getting at is I want them to look back on their childhood with a blurred memory of disagreement, but a clear memory of the problem solving, empathy and compassion that followed.  Taking empathy and compassion along with a healthy dose of problem solving into their adult lives will make their lives so much easier and, oddly enough, fuller.

In a nutshell I want the girls to reflect on our time together now as being when they learned to have fun and laugh, to be adventurous and innovative, to have compassion and empathy, but above all else to be someone who loves and is loved by others.  A tall order perhaps, but shouldn't our biggest and brightest goals be for our family and children to happily succeed in life?