The kids always remember the little things.........

Okay, I am now way beyond "parenting" and well into "grand parenting", but I am still surprised at what the kids remember and treasure from their growing up years.  Sometimes as parents, we make decisions for our vacations, for outings and just for fun - but then wonder if we are doing the right thing.  This week I watched (through pictures) Gwen recreate with her own children, many wonderful memories from times spent with my mom in Minnesota.  I started bringing the kids to see my mom during the summers beginning in 1986 (after my dad died and when Doug was finally getting better).  My memories always centered around Lake Maud, which included swimming and spending time by a lake.  So I found the closest lake to my mom's house that had a public swimming beach and that became a regular destination of our trips to Minnesota.  This lovely public park is on Weaver Lake.  It has a wonderful picnic area, an amazing playground and climber, and a really long slide down to the beach.  It also has a really nice swimming beach.  For someone from Illinois this park was simply unbelievable.  You can't find anywhere to swim around here, let alone for FREE!   Here are a few pictures from one of our first outings to Weaver Lake...

And here is the climber.......

You might need to squint really hard but that is Doug on the top of the climber and Gwen is down near the bottom.    I remember my mom being really surprised that the kids would be so excited to swim.  From that year onward, Weaver Lake was part of our regular routine while we were visiting Grandma.  Often my sister Julie would bring her girls over to spend the day with us while she worked, and we would all go swimming.  In the later years we had many picnics with all of Julies family that had grown to include many grandchildren.  On one of my last visits with my mom, she talked about these times at Weaver Lake and how much she missed going there.  She also recounted one time when Doug was a middle schooler when our trip to Weaver Lake was a comedy scene.  The wind was so strong that you could barely stand up!  But Doug insisted on swimming.  Mom and I spent the time hanging on for dear life and laughing on the deck overlooking the beach!  Yes we had a great laugh again, in the remembering.  

This week, Gwen and Tim and their kids met up with my sister Julie and three of her four kids - and their kids for a day at Weaver Lake!  And boy did they have fun.  And quite surprisingly, this park looks pretty much the same now as it did in 1986!  There are several pictures from yesterday posted on facebook pages that look just like the pictures above!  Only its a new generation of kids enjoying this beach!

Isn't it interesting that this very little thing - finding a swimming beach and playground for the kids- became a lasting memory for them?  There is a message in this.  These days so many parents think that kids need the "BIG" vacations (think major theme parks that are a plane ride away).  But take my advice, all the kids need is a body of water, some sand and a few pails or bowls, possibly some rocks (to throw into the water), and some playground equipment.  It really is the little things that they will remember!  

Once again I am stuck on the way that memories and events move seamlessly from one generation to another.  Now I am the grandma, seeing my grandchildren enjoying that park and making those lasting memories.  I am so thankful that the Spiritual things we share also make that same transition down the family tree.  The prayers and the traditions of our faith are learned and practiced by the children, as they see their parents and grandparents and even great grandparents in worship.  Even in this, it is the little things.  For me, I remember the smell of the candles being extinguished at he end of the service.  Isn't that crazy?  Anytime that I encountered that smell, I thought of church.  I love seeing all of the little children in church. Those weekly times, gathering with families and hearing the Word of God may seem like little things, but because little things are remembered, they become BIG things.

Take my advice.  Think back on your own childhood.  Find that very special "little thing" and then recreate it with your own family.  Visit a playground, park or beach that holds memories for you.  Gather with cousins you haven't seen in a long time.  Talk about the "good old days".  Most importantly, take a moment the next time you are in church, to find a child and say hello.  Engage them in conversation. If you are a parent, bring your kids to church!  Make a memory!

Jesus, thank you for the reminder today that sometimes the little things can be the big things!  Holy Spirit, help us all to share the little, but important things with those around us.  Keep us mindful of the importance of sharing our traditions, our faith, with our children and grandchildren.  Thank you for memories.  Amen