Traditions & Memories

My absolute favorite thing in this world is making memories and laughing with the people I love. I’ve realized that this is what brings me the most joy in life, and I know I can attribute so much of that to the way I grew up. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents always prioritized spending time together and showed me what was truly important.

Because of that, we created so many special memories, took vacations, and built traditions that we still love looking back on. We reminisce, talk, laugh, and continue to feel so loved by the people who put in the effort to make those moments special for us.

I always knew we were going to have a party with all of my cousins for every holiday. My favorites were always Christmas Eve, when my grandpa would dress up as Santa and bring all of us a present, and July 4th, when we would have a BBQ and water fights.

Every summer, I knew I was going to spend time with my family from across the world. Even though everyone had their own lives going on, they always made time for us and made an effort to create special moments together.

The moments didn’t have to be big. I was fortunate enough to live right next to my grandparents, so all of us would gather for Sunday dinners, simply eating, talking, and laughing with one another. My parents didn’t focus on the material things they could buy for us. Instead, they focused on experiences and spending time together, even when it wasn’t always convenient. I can’t imagine taking five kids on vacation was ever easy, but those are the things we remember now.

Growing up this way meant I never questioned whether I had people who loved me. They showed me through their actions. They made time for me. They made memories with me. They made me feel like being together was important.

That has become such an important part of who I am that I’ve tried to carry it forward by creating reasons for us to gather. Many of the people who once created these traditions for our family have since passed, and I want to continue them in honor of their memory. I want the people around me to never question how loved they are, while also creating the memories that we’ll look back on and remember for the rest of our lives.

Someone recently asked my brother, after seeing another one of our family gatherings, “How often do you guys get together?” Suggesting they thought the answer was going to be that we get together quite often. Coming from a sarcastic family, my brother simply replied, “Too often“.

And honestly, that’s exactly what I want the answer to be.

I want us to gather often. I want spending time with the people we love to be a priority. I don’t want other things to constantly come before the people who matter most.

Let’s make creating memories and spending time with the people we love one of our biggest priorities, because when it’s all said and done, I truly believe this is what matters most.

This is what I want my legacy to be.

When the next generation looks back on my life, I want them to always know how loved they were. I want them to know that I made the effort to spend time with them, to be there for them, and to create memories they will carry with them forever.