I wanted to leave a legacy for my children.
My husband and I raised five children, which included homeschooling them. While they were all little we had a favorite vacation. I have always loved bike riding, so we took our kids to Jekyll Island, Georgia. The area is very flat, and we would spend a week riding bikes. That first year we went, it was just me an my husband and oldest daughter, and as the family grew our little bike train got longer.
When we went riding, I would always take the lead. The kids came behind me and then my husband was in the rear. He usually had the youngest on his bike.
Every year we would take our lunch to a large picnic area and then bicycle home. The island has lots of live oaks that are huge. We picked one very large one that had huge limbs close to the ground and make photos. One year a couple came along behind us, and we got a picture made with the whole family in that tree. That was very special.
We’d also go to the beach to play or walk, but biking was everyone’s favorite. We also did some miniature golf.
As the children grew, my oldest daughter got interested in cooking. We would buy whatever she wanted to cook and let her spend an entire day preparing dinner.
There were so many things we liked to do as a family.
I remember hearing the kids say, “It’s a tradition. We have to do it.” Or “We can’t break a tradition.”
When you read Genesis, you see the family is the first institution God created, and it’s important. One of the things we wanted to do was pass on a legacy to our children of godly values and faith. But we had fun too.
Susan G Mathis has just written a book about traditions and legacy. It’s called The Fabric of Hope
You can find Susan here.
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