The List & A Legacy

I've been pondering a post I wrote for The Classy Closet. It was about how much I believe we are affected by the environment we grow up in. For some of you stopping by my little blog for the first time, I found out just shy of my 30th birthday that I was adopted. Almost a year after Mama passed away a family friend unknowingly mentioned my adoption in a hastily written note. She obviously thought I had been told.

I was like my parents in so many ways to say I was shocked is an understatement.

DH and I may not share DNA with our adopted child(ren) but how we raise them will have an impact on their lives. What we expose them to can become lifelong interests and memories. I've been thinking about the things my parents encouraged that I hope to pass on:

**A Love For Reading. I was the kid that spent summer nights under her covers with a flashlight devouring books. My imagination was transported by "A Wrinkle In Time", "Charlotte's Web" and I could hardly contain my squeals of laughter from "Mrs Piggle Wiggle". I loved the library and B. Dalton bookstores. I think it's a shame the aroma of Starbucks overwhelms the smell of books at Barnes & Noble.

**Sports. I was an over the top tomboy and loved all things sports. They (almost always) kept me out of trouble and focused.

**Music Appreciation. Honestly I sucked at playing instruments. I gave the violin and clarinet a whirl in elementary school and was a total failure. I couldn't play but learned to love and respect music just the same. For the record, I did find out later in life I have a pretty decent singing voice which is now reserved for future lullaby's.

**A Love For Man's Best Friend. DH and I were raised with dogs and our herd is part of the family. Some of the most stressful times of my life have been soothed by a smile from our mastiff-lab-goofball mix or a nudge and kiss from our husky. Bad things seem to melt away after a long walk with a true companion.

**Faith. I will train them up in my faith and what they decide to do with it as adults is up to them. Like Mama, I will pray they stay the course.

**Take Road Trips. We never flew as a family.. we always drove. Some of my best memories started in the wee hours of the morning leaving our home in the '68 Dart. Mom, Dad, me, 2 toy poodles and Goldie (our gold fish.. I couldn't bear to leave her behind).

**The Value of a Dollar. DH is the hardest working man I've ever met (next to Dad) and we're both cut from the same work ethic cloth. In life, we believe it's very important to pull your own weight.

The list grows daily as more things come to mind. DH and I may not be able to give our adopted children our heritage but we sure can leave them a legacy.