Making Those Memories

This week I headed back to the beginning of it all for a little fun in the sun. Things are different now which can almost go unnoticed until you go back to the beginning. During my childhood, the Alabama cost was a summer given. Just 3 hours and some change from my hometown, it was a quick-long trip for a kid but well worth it once your feet felt the powder white sand and your ears heard the sound of low but steady blue-green waves breaking into the shallow shore. As a kid I’d remember looking out the window, eyes gazed, for the first sign of red dirt clay giving way to splotches of sand or a sighting of a palm.

Memories of my summer vacations are vivid. Growing up in a family leery of excess, a trip to the gulf was in sharp contrast to normal life. A life that narrowly balanced the fine line between doing without and extra. From my perspective as a child my parents managed it masterfully. Summer trips weren’t extravagant, but if the balance teetered it would give way ever so slightly to extra. The one week out of the year to live a little like the kids across town.

I can remember like it was yesterday flopping back and forth between the beach and the pool (and always feeling the fear of missing out on what was happening at the other), hunting for crabs beneath a low hanging moon, and my annual indulgence on fresh seafood. Crab legs dipped in butter were my favorite and well worth the effort.

Now it’s my turn to make the memories. Coming back full circle things are different but just as much fun if not more. It’s a different world in some respects but not all entirely. My kids still light up with joy hunting for crabs, still waffle on the beach and pool (preferring to be at the other no matter where they are), and my oldest son ate all my crab legs. Fun is still fun it just involves a little more work on my part these days.

I’ve been thinking a lot about fun this week and just how easy it is for life to squeeze it all away. Not under my watch. Fun isn’t optional for the Rush Clan; it’s a value. I want us to be experts in having fun and enjoying the time we have together.

Just like life as a whole, this week is moving along much to quickly but we’re savoring the moments like crab meat dipped in butter. Just making those memories. I hope these are traditions that will continue for generations to come because some things in life are just worth passing on like beach trips and crab legs.

But, those are just means to an end. Fun memories of shared experiences that form the narrative of our family. Couple more days to go, better get back to making those memories!