As I wrote about our house updates earlier this week, I realized that there is a definite theme in our home decor… and in our lives!  We love to remember where we came from.  We both grew up very differently from how our daughter will grow up.  Neither is better or worse, but there are things that are important for us to pass down to her.

For one, we both grew up in trailers.  Josh lived in a trailer park for many of his young years with tons of friends to play with, while I grew up on the side of a mountain with 30 acres to roam and animals everywhere.  Our kid is growing up on a quiet street, 6 miles from the beach, with a fenced in backyard.  There were so many lessons Josh learned while playing outside with his friends, and so many I learned while raising goats… those aren’t teachable in preschool or by a parent… they’re just learned in life.

We also both grew up very close with our extended family.  My grandparents lived next door, and we ate at my great-grandmothers every Sunday (which was just down the mountain).  Josh’s mom was always hanging out with her parents and aunt– and even after we were married we all got together for Sunday dinner.  Our kid?  Totally growing up 8 hours from both sides of her family.

And as much as we cling to our heritage, we also embrace that we’re creating a new legacy.  Hopefully with a good dose of the old mixed with the new.  Who knows… we could totally be messing all of this up, but only time will tell.

In the meantime, we continue to show our daughter where we came from… and sometimes make her pose for pictures in the same spots!
We also make sure to leave room for the next generation.  If there’s one thing we know for sure, there’s no perfect way to raise a child.  And whatever we do, our child will probably do the opposite with her children.  Although, I have to say, I model nearly all my parenting after my parents.  They raised 5 decent kids to adulthood, so I feel like that’s a pretty solid track record.  🙂

Last time we were in my hometown, we took her down to a little coffee shop in Hazelwood… the town that inspired her name.  We went a second time before leaving town and when we walked in, she said, Mom!!!  We’re in HAZELWOOD!!!!  She wasn’t quite sure what it was all about, but she knew it was special to me, and therefore it meant something to her.  It just made my heart so happy!As a side note, I definitely left a little of the car in this picture just so we can laugh about it 50 years from now.  I can only hope that her children are like, Mom… what kind of crazy car is that??  And she’ll look at her kids and say, Oh, you know your grandparents… they’re a little crazy.

So what do you do?  How do you incorporate great qualities of the past in this high-tech fast paced life?  For everyone, the world is totally different than how we grew up.  I’m sure we’re not the only ones that feel like we’re just along for the ride at times!