Family and Spending Time Where It Matters
If you’ve been checking my social media, you might have noticed that I’ve been spending more time with my family, and we’ve been traveling a lot.
We’ve been driving a lot because it’s expensive to fly six people, but we enjoy being together in the car and seeing all the amazing things God created.
It felt like we blinked, and our oldest son turned 14! Then we realized we only have 4 more years until he probably moves out and starts his own life. We want to make the most of this time together.
So, we decided to stop spending money on unnecessary things and instead focus on creating memories.
One thing we did was sit down with all the kids and ask them where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do.
We got a variety of responses!
Some were exciting, while others were heartwarming. Our daughter said she wanted to learn more about fixing things. One son said he wanted to spend more time together as a family. And of course, one wanted to do more hunting, especially in exotic places.
All of this got us thinking.
None of them asked for more things! They didn’t want us to buy toys or gadgets. They wanted us to give them experience. And that’s exactly what we wanted, too. Less stuff and more memories.
Have you ever sat down with your kids and asked them what they truly wanted? Not about gifts for Christmas or their birthday, but about what they want to do, where they want to go, or what experiences they want to have.
You see, we’ve taught our children everywhere that when we ask them what they want, they usually ask for stuff, not experience. That’s because, whether you realize it or not, we’ve trained them to ask for stuff. Do you know why? It’s because giving stuff is easier than giving an experience. It’s much quicker to go on Amazon and buy a dollhouse than to build one for your daughter.
I want you to do something today: go home and talk to your family about the experiences you remember from your childhood. Like fishing with your grandpa, fixing a truck with your dad, baking cakes with your mom, riding in a tractor with your other grandpa, or baking bread with your grandma. As you talk about your memories, pay attention to what makes your kids excited.
I also want you to think back and try to remember the toys that excited you the most. Can you remember any of them? Do you still have any? I do. One Christmas, I got a few remote-control toys. They brought me a lot of joy. But now, seeing my kids play with them brings even more joy! You see, I used to think that the toys themselves made me happy, but it’s the experience of playing with them and now watching my kids play with the same toys that brings me true happiness.
It was never the things in my life that made me happy; it was the experiences I remember. With that in mind, what can you do to create more experiences for your family? How can you be there for your kids in a way that they’ll always remember?
I promise you that taking a family trip to San Diego and eating at your favorite hamburger place in Ocean Beach (Hodads) will bring more joy and leave a longer-lasting memory than buying them a new phone every year!
Go out and create wonderful memories with your family while you still can!
As for me, keep an eye on my Facebook and Instagram to see where life takes us in the next few years!
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