Locked In

Some things never leave you.

For me, one of them is heat. You know the feeling, right? When you get into a car that has been sitting—baking, really—in the sun and a bead of sweat instantly forms and runs down your back. For this Arizona native, that feels like home to me.

It’s also the feeling of soaring straight for the sky, legs pumping, and then being pulled down to earth again. For some reason, the thrill of being a child on a swing has never left me.

Starting in seventh grade, my family spent a few days in Mexico every year, usually in December. As I grew older and started feeling the stress of finals and boyfriends and applications and sports, our annual trek to the beach became a much-needed escape.

Sand in my toes, warmth on my face—eyes locked on the hypnotic roll of incoming waves.

That feeling is locked in forever.

They say that some of the things you experience as a child and an adolescent stay with you life. I can see what they mean.

Which makes me wonder—what will get locked in for my kids?

It’s a scary thought, as I think all moms hope that the sound of us snapping at them to put on shoes and get out the door won’t be the one thing that stays burned on their brains. Or all the times when I respond to their running narrative with blank eyes while my mind is running miles a minute in another direction.

Fears aside, I actually enjoy plotting and scheming the good things that I want my children to lock in.

On Saturday mornings, when Quinn (our two-year-old) realizes that her daddy isn’t headed to work, she starts wandering the house asking, “Beach? Hike?” Then again:

“Beach? Hike?”

I figure this is a good sign.

So what will it be?

Maybe it will be the sound of crashing Northern California waves that stays with them forever. Or the crunch of dry leaves under dirty tennis shoes as they round the curve of a trail.

But maybe—in spite of all my grand ideas about adventure being a deep part of our family culture—maybe it’ll just be the smell of freshly cut grass or the sight of children playing with toy swords that will instantly take them back to their childhood.

Maybe it’ll be a glimpse of a big red ball outside of Target or the sound of a kitchen mixer turning.

Whatever it is, I’m so grateful I get to help shape it.

Because—

Some things never leave you.

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PS. I’d love to hear what was locked in from your childhood—OR what you might guess will stick with your kids from theirs!