As I sit down to write my personal story on what “roots” means to me, I feel so blessed to have always been surrounded with love and support by so many people in my life.  Having roots is about traditions and creating a sense of home…somewhere to belong and make wonderful memories.

I came home this Sunday after spending a long weekend with my family and friends continuing one of those traditions that I hold so dear.  Since I can remember, my parents have thrown a bbq during the week of the 4^th.  We have all kinds of food, some fun on the lake, yard games and or course fireworks.  I have many family members there, friends that I have known for my entire life and friends I have only known a short while.  My parents and sister invite their own sets of neighbors and friends, so as you can imagine we have a pretty big group.  There are so many memories that we share from year to year and it is times like these that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

It is interesting going through life.  When you are a child, your parents have created their roots for you to grow from and live in.  Now in my 30s I see that as I get older however, it is time for me to create my own roots.  I begin to ask myself, what traditions will I set for my future family and children?   What morals and life style will I set as a standard for my future generations to live in and grow from?

I hope to take all that I was taught and what I have experienced… the importance of a good conversation, the importance of the people in my life, the sweet memories of time spent together and one day hopefully create some traditions or “roots” that I can pass along.