Having a baby on the way has made me reflect a lot lately on “family values.” The one thing about every church, organization, and political party is that these are something that people can leave or change. A family – someones DNA, their blood – those are things that connect a person for a lifetime and beyond.
I’ve started thinking that it’s important that my family have a set of core values that transcend religion or political affiliation. I think that every family needs a family creed, which for me is just a simple set of accessible, practical values that I can impart to my children. These are things that are not just hung on a wall or cross-stitched on a pillow; these are ideas that will help guide life decisions, and a way of viewing the world that will help my children grow and become successful in their endeavors, while also having the tools to deal with life’s challenges. At the core, these values will define what it means to be a Burdick.
So far, I’ve come up with three P’s that reflect these values, but I have a feeling these will evolve more as I get closer to my baby’s birth (plus, I haven’t run these by baby’s momma yet). I would definitely welcome your feedback, ideas, and experiences as I work to finish defining them.
FAMILY VALUE 1: PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THINGS
This is something my father used to always say to us growing up. It is a good way of putting things in proper perspective, especially when your child puts a syrup-covered Eggo Waffle in your DVD Player. You can always replace a DVD player, but your child is irreplaceable. As children get older and a friend loses their toy or someone dents their car, it is always an important value to help remind them that things are replaceable; relationships are not.
FAMILY VALUE 2: POSITIVITY IS A CHOICE
People have the power to choose their view of life. We all have negativity thrown at us, terrible tragedies which we have to overcome, and huge frustrations that we will undoubtedly encounter. But we can always choose to be grateful for the things we do have and focus our minds towards making something positive out of our trials, learning important lessons, and using our experiences to help and inspire others. Positivity & optimism starts with gratitude for the good in life and moves out from there.
FAMILY VALUE 3: LIVE LIFE WITH PASSION
Life can and should be fun. Laugh. Find things that you love to do and do them with passion. Fundamentally, I want my home to be a fun place where we are just as passionate about each other as we are about our own goals, dreams, and hobbies. At the very heart: Life is good!
So there you have it: My Burdick Family Values, draft one. Now, I just need to learn how to cross-stitch so that I can put my 3 P’s on pillows for my children to sleep on. Anyone giving lessons?
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On another note, I stumbled onto this fun YouTube Channel this week for parents. Enjoy the laughs:
