Rick and I are both so fortunate to come from strong family ties. For both of us, our immediate and extended families play strong roles in our world. Our parents and siblings are primary relationships and until we were young adults we both fortunate to have one or both of our grandparents alive and a regular part of our lives.
It's interesting how parallel our lives ran. For the majority of my life, I grew up down the street from my aunt and uncle and 3 cousins. My mom and my aunt were and still are best friends. My cousins were the sisters I never had and we made daily memories together. We never fail to recall those memories and often laugh til we cry. One of my cousins lives around the corner from her parents house and the others closeby. My grandma lived a few miles away and I was fortunate to get to spend time with her all through early adulthood. Those memories made all along the way had big impacts on my life.
Interestingly, Rick experienced the same things. His aunt and uncle and 3 cousins were very close and he grew up across the street from his grandparents for the majority of his life. His aunt and uncle and their 3 daughters all live within 5 miles of each other and they kind of run in a pack. His grandpa was a crucial part of Rick's life. They spent every day together. I credit him for making Rick the man, husband and father he is today. He modeled love, acceptance, loyalty, hard work, strong work ethic and humor. Rick has some hilarious stories about his grandpa. Precious memories.
Below is a picture of Rick's grandpa, Al. He was a character. He always had dip in,wore overalls each day and walked with a cane, but it never kept him home. Rick would wake him every morning and he'd get up and off they would go. He went everywhere Rick went. Without a doubt, the most influential male in Rick's life both as a child and young adult was Al Slankard - his grandpa. Up until the day he died he would still go out with Rick to check cattle, run to get feed in town, and sit in the pick-up near Rick while he worked on things. I got to thinking how much his grandpa's decisions have affected my life. Our life together. The lives of our children and no doubt one day their children. I know he just enjoyed being on the place he worked so hard to make home. I think he would be proud and thrilled we have chosen to make this place our home.
Rick's grandpa worked hard. He traveled by horse and wagon shortly after WWI and bought the land he would one day build his house upon. He built it himself. Now, it is the land we built our home on last year. Without his vision, sacrifice and hard work we wouldn't have this extraordinary home on this beautiful setting. I'm not sure if his grandpa ever imagined that 4 generations of his family would one day live on the land he worked so hard for long ago. But, it's true. At this moment, three generations of his family live here. I won't be surprised if many more generations of family one day make this place their home.
Mom and Dad used to say to me that you could never have too many people love you or invested in you. They cast a vision for me to surround myself with people I love and who love me. I love that our children have so many family members who genuinely love and care for them. It no doubt makes them into better people. It's an extra layer of love, accountability, support and encouragement. It creates a sense of belonging and acceptance.
My parents used to dream of us having a compound of sorts. Somewhat like Southfork Ranch on Dallas. Which, by the way, is one of our favorite shows to watch the 2nd time around. Anyway, it was a running joke, laced with truth, in our family. A huge area of land where each of their kids and our families would one day live. Although we never really had that, fortunately Rick and I with our kids lived across the street from my parents for 12 years and the memories stored from those years are priceless. My brothers both live close by and I'm grateful our kids grow up knowing family well. I love our tradition of Sunday night family dinners and the conversations around the table. The memories, the 'remember whens' each week and support, love, encouragement and acceptance that comes from family.
So, I've been thinking much on legacy. How grateful I am for the people who lived and loved before me. Knowing that our decisions and our lives will have a ripple effect on the people after us is somewhat overwhelming but ultimately it just makes me want to be a better person and dream big! To daily invest and deepen relationships with people God has so graciously blessed our lives with! To establish lasting memories and traditions that will be fondly remembered long after our imprint has been made.
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