Leaving Behind a Legacy of Love

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we leave behind. What kind of legacy will follow us? I feel like the passing of time becomes more apparent once you become a mom. When you glance away for a second, your tiny newborn has become a spunky toddler. And all those precious moments in between have slipped away.

Our generation has the gift of technology, which can be both a blessing and a curse. We want to record so much of our children growing up, so we never forget the time we have with them. But is their memory of us always going to be shadowed by a cellphone? We don’t even know what we are all missing when we view it through a camera lens. It is a never-ending battle between wanting to take the cute pictures and videos and living in the present. Do we capture each moment, or do we simply soak it in? Somewhere in between, I think there is a balance, but it is not easy to find.

No matter what we do, we cannot slow time. We can’t erase the mistakes we’ve made or relive the happiest times. We just do our best to keep moving forward, building the best foundation we can for our children.

It’s not pleasant to think about our children someday leaving us and leading their own lives. But I think it’s important to remember that what we do now will prepare them for that future. They will use the lessons we teach them now to guide them. And they will hopefully look back on this childhood with fondness.

So, I ask myself “how do I want to be remembered?” At the end of the day, I want my kids to know who I was -- both the struggles and the successes.

Sure, they are going to have that video of their first steps and countless bathtub photos, but I want to leave them so much more. I hope they grow to love reading and writing the way I do. They will always share a connection with me through the words I leave behind -- and there are a lot. I have been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I have shoeboxes filled poems scrawled on notebook paper, half written stories, journal entries and school essays. They will have enough reading material to last a lifetime and a half.

But there are two very special items I’ve recently added to my collection. There are two children’s books I wrote for each of them. Though they are silly rhymes, with probably even sillier illustrations, the boys will always have a little piece of me to take with them.

Even if they never share my love of the written word, I want to instill in them the values of kindness and hard work. Those traits will serve them well for all their lives. I want to make an impact on them and be someone they can always trust. I want to leave behind a legacy of love.